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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — obliged
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. kid — to tease
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. face — part of the head
  9. kid — child
  10. bound — tied together
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. file — a line of people
  13. face — to confront
  14. capital — a city
  15. degree — an amount
  16. file — a tool
  17. degree — from a university
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. degree — temperature
  20. capital — money
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. face — to point toward
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. lie — to recline

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