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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 120 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: game · kick · march · deal · firm · last · file · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. file — a tool
  3. last — final
  4. deal — to handle
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. firm — decided
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. file — a document
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. face — to confront
  12. last — to go on
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. march — music
  15. file — a line of people
  16. march — the month
  17. face — to point toward
  18. game — wild animals
  19. last — finally
  20. march — the month
  21. kick — in football
  22. firm — a company
  23. game — a match
  24. firm — steady

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