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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. file — a tool
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. face — part of the head
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bat — the animal
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. file — a document
  10. pass — a permit
  11. mate — a partner
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. present — a gift
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. face — to confront
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. present — there
  21. mate — to breed
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. file — a line of people
  24. patient — a sick person

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