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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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. mine — for digging
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. face — part of the head
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. present — the time now
  9. net — after costs
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. bear — the animal
  13. net — in sport
  14. file — a tool
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. net — for catching
  17. face — to point toward
  18. present — a gift
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. file — a document
  24. present — there

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