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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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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 · pitch · rule · wake · rest · bank · degree · file

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wake — a trail
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. face — to confront
  8. bank — for money
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. file — a document
  12. rest — a break
  13. file — a tool
  14. degree — an amount
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bank — for money
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rule — government
  19. rest — what's left
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bank — of a river
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rule — a law

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