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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. charge — in control
  3. file — a document
  4. last — finally
  5. face — to confront
  6. wind — moving air
  7. face — to point toward
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. last — to go on
  10. charge — a price
  11. file — a line of people
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. file — a tool
  15. last — final
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. charge — electricity
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. kid — child
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wind — moving air

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