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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rock — music
  3. pass — a permit
  4. land — a country
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. face — part of the head
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. scale — size or range
  16. land — ground
  17. file — a line of people
  18. face — to point toward
  19. rock — a stone
  20. scale — in music
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. face — to confront
  23. land — to come down
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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