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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · file · cabinet · land · pop · row · charge · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pop — soda
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pop — to visit
  8. file — a document
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. charge — electricity
  13. file — a tool
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. charge — a price
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. face — to point toward
  19. land — a country
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. charge — in control
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pop — music

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