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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. swing — to play on
  3. game — wild animals
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. face — to point toward
  6. file — a document
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chair — a leader
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. file — a tool
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. game — a match
  16. swing — music
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. swing — in golf
  19. hand — in cards
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. face — part of the head
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. face — to confront
  24. hand — help

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