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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. fall — to drop
  3. face — to confront
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. vault — a safe
  6. face — part of the head
  7. chair — a leader
  8. drill — army training
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. drill — the tool
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. fall — the season
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. file — a document
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cue — for pool
  24. fall — to drop

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com