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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: bore · bat · cabinet · season · wind · file · sharp · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. season — in sport
  4. file — a document
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wind — moving air
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. season — of the year
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bat — the animal
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bat — in an idiom

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