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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. band — a ring
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. face — to confront
  6. band — a music group
  7. face — to point toward
  8. file — a line of people
  9. last — to go on
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — finally
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wind — moving air
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. face — part of the head
  19. field — a subject
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. file — a document
  22. cell — a phone
  23. last — final
  24. temple — a place of worship

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