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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 120 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. face — to confront
  4. kid — child
  5. face — part of the head
  6. file — a tool
  7. hand — in cards
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. present — a gift
  10. cue — a hint
  11. file — a document
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cue — a signal
  14. hand — help
  15. object — to protest
  16. sharp — clever
  17. object — a thing
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cue — for pool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. face — to point toward
  23. present — there
  24. present — the time now

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