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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. staff — a stick
  3. face — part of the head
  4. file — a tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. staff — employees
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. face — to confront
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. staff — employees
  18. net — after costs
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. file — a line of people

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