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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a tool
  5. mark — a trace
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. face — part of the head
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. file — a document
  12. object — an aim
  13. file — a line of people
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. kid — child
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. face — to point toward
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — a thing
  22. face — to confront
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cell — in a prison

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