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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.

Make a worksheet

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: face · mark · cold · drill · file · plane · tube · cabinet

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. file — a tool
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cold — not warm
  11. drill — army training
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tube — the underground
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. face — part of the head
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. tube — a container
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. plane — a tool
  24. file — a document

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