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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cold — not warm
  6. race — a contest
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mate — to breed
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — electric
  12. mate — a friend
  13. current — of water
  14. season — of the year
  15. race — the arms race
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. race — humankind
  19. cold — an illness
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mate — a partner
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. face — part of the head
  24. season — in sport

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