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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 124 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: straw · race · firm · file · cell · bore · face · fan

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. firm — steady
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. race — a contest
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. face — to confront
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cell — in biology
  14. file — a line of people
  15. firm — a company
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bore — to tire
  19. firm — decided
  20. file — a document
  21. face — to point toward
  22. race — humankind
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. file — a tool

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