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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. face — part of the head
  3. file — a tool
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. content — happy
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. face — to point toward
  9. club — for golf
  10. last — final
  11. club — a group
  12. file — a document
  13. net — for catching
  14. last — to go on
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. face — to confront
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. snap — to click
  22. content — the amount
  23. last — finally
  24. file — a line of people

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