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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. content — happy
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. current — of water
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. content — the amount
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. current — electric
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. saw — the tool
  18. current — happening now
  19. saw — the tool
  20. file — a tool
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. file — a document
  23. face — part of the head
  24. jam — a tight spot

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