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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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. march — the month
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. face — to point toward
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. march — music
  10. fine — high quality
  11. sharp — clever
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. file — a tool
  14. march — the month
  15. fine — all right
  16. face — to confront
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. snap — to click
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. file — a document
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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