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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cap — of ice
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cap — a hat
  23. file — a document
  24. spell — magic

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