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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. file — a line of people
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. board — a committee
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. file — a tool
  7. rule — a law
  8. tear — from crying
  9. face — to confront
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. tear — from crying
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. file — a document
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. prune — to trim
  16. board — to get on
  17. tear — to rip
  18. prune — to trim
  19. plane — a tool
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to point toward
  22. rule — government
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rule — to rule out

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