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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. sharp — clever
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. rest — what's left
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. vault — a safe
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wound — an injury
  12. face — to point toward
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. file — a document
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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