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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: face · scale · current · mate · bank · file · hide · kid

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. kid — to tease
  3. face — part of the head
  4. mate — a partner
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mate — to breed
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bank — of a river
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. face — to confront
  18. scale — in music
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. face — to point toward
  21. file — a line of people
  22. scale — size or range
  23. kid — child
  24. hide — to keep secret

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