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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. row — to paddle
  3. can — a tin
  4. file — a tool
  5. row — a line
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — a gift
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. game — a match
  11. face — to confront
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. face — to point toward
  15. present — there
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. can — to be able to
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. sharp — clever
  23. game — wild animals
  24. can — a tin

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