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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. file — a tool
  3. lean — thin
  4. face — to confront
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. band — a music group
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. craft — a skill
  12. file — a document
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wake — a trail
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pitch — completely
  18. hand — in cards
  19. craft — boats
  20. hand — help
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. lean — to bend
  24. face — part of the head

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