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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wake — a trail
  4. band — a ring
  5. pit — a hole
  6. face — to confront
  7. pit — in a race
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. file — a document
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. file — a line of people
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cell — in biology
  16. saw — the tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. file — a tool
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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