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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. file — a document
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. saw — the tool
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pass — a permit
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. file — a line of people
  14. swing — in golf
  15. face — part of the head
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. swing — music
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. saw — the tool
  21. file — a tool
  22. rash — hasty
  23. kick — in football
  24. rash — a series

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