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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. net — for catching
  3. court — of law
  4. face — part of the head
  5. file — a document
  6. face — to confront
  7. bass — the fish
  8. net — in sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. net — after costs
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. face — to point toward
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bass — low music
  18. file — a line of people
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. field — a subject
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. lie — to recline

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