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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: bass · rule · file · fall · mouse · content · arm · face

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. fall — to drop
  7. file — a document
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. face — part of the head
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rule — government
  15. face — to point toward
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. content — the amount
  19. rule — a law
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fall — the season
  23. bass — low music
  24. face — to confront

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