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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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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: file · bore · row · rush · wound · face · object · hand

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. object — an aim
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. file — a tool
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hand — help
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. row — a line
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. face — part of the head
  16. hand — in cards
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. object — to protest
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. object — a thing
  24. bore — to tire

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