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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 120 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. face — to confront
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. band — a music group
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. scale — in music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. band — a ring
  14. file — a tool
  15. scale — size or range
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. cell — in biology
  21. face — to point toward
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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