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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — to point toward
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. file — a line of people
  6. land — a country
  7. face — part of the head
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. land — to come down
  10. fork — in a road
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. file — a tool
  14. land — ground
  15. pass — a permit
  16. file — a document
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bat — the animal
  23. court — for sport
  24. bark — to shout

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