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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. saw — the tool
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. mate — a partner
  5. board — to get on
  6. file — a tool
  7. tear — to rip
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — a friend
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. board — a committee
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. face — to point toward
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. tear — from crying
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stem — to come from
  24. mate — to breed

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