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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. file — a document
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. face — to confront
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. last — final
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rule — a law
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. last — finally
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. shower — to wash
  17. rule — government
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. face — part of the head
  23. last — to go on
  24. file — a tool

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