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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. face — part of the head
  3. file — a document
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. swing — music
  8. face — to confront
  9. rash — hasty
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. face — to point toward
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. vault — a safe
  19. land — a country
  20. rash — a series
  21. land — to come down
  22. swing — in golf
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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