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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 sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. face — to confront
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a dance
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. file — a document
  10. sharp — clever
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ball — a great time
  13. cell — a phone
  14. row — a line
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cell — in biology
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. file — a tool
  23. face — to point toward
  24. sharp — with an edge

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