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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 116 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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ball — a dance
  3. file — a line of people
  4. face — to point toward
  5. file — a document
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. face — part of the head
  10. file — a tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. face — to confront
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. race — a contest
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. land — to come down
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. land — ground
  21. race — humankind
  22. ball — a great time
  23. land — a country
  24. race — the arms race

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