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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. rush — hurry
  3. file — a line of people
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. saw — the tool
  6. file — a document
  7. face — part of the head
  8. file — a tool
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stem — to come from
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. face — to confront
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. saw — the tool
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. wind — moving air
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. stem — a stem cell

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