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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 116 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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. face — part of the head
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. field — a subject
  9. scale — in music
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. field — for sport
  14. mine — for digging
  15. field — farmland
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rush — hurry
  22. file — a document
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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