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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 116 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. rule — a law
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. file — a tool
  11. face — to point toward
  12. wind — moving air
  13. face — part of the head
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. prune — to trim
  16. key — the most important part
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. face — to confront
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cell — in biology
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. rule — government
  24. key — for a lock

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