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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cap — a hat
  8. spring — of water
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. file — a document
  11. face — to confront
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. file — a line of people
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. plane — a tool
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cap — of ice
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cap — a lid

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