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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. land — to come down
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. file — a line of people
  5. present — a gift
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — to confront
  8. land — a country
  9. snap — to click
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. file — a document
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. present — there
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. chip — to eat
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. present — the time now
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. land — ground
  23. file — a tool
  24. chip — for betting

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