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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bound — tied together
  4. file — a line of people
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bound — obliged
  7. face — to confront
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. face — to point toward
  10. file — a tool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lean — to bend
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lean — thin
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bound — certain
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. file — a document

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