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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rule — a law
  6. bore — to drill
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. face — to point toward
  11. cold — not warm
  12. roll — a cake
  13. present — a gift
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. rule — government
  16. present — the time now
  17. face — to confront
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. roll — a list
  21. file — a document
  22. present — there
  23. file — a line of people
  24. roll — on a roll

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