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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. shower — rain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. file — a line of people
  6. face — to confront
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. land — ground
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ground — the earth
  14. land — a country
  15. bound — tied together
  16. rest — what's left
  17. land — to come down
  18. bound — certain
  19. ground — a position
  20. file — a document
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. shower — to wash
  24. file — a tool

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