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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · file · ruler · sharp · face · season · rock · foot

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. season — of the year
  3. land — a country
  4. face — to confront
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. rock — music
  7. land — ground
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. file — a tool
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. land — to come down
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. file — a line of people
  15. face — to point toward
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. file — a document
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. foot — a measure
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. sharp — clever
  23. season — in sport
  24. ruler — for measuring

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