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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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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 · face · land · ruler · deal · wave · wound · pound

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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. land — to come down
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. file — a tool
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. deal — to handle
  10. land — ground
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. pound — a weight
  15. file — a document
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — a country
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. file — a line of people

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