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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: row · straw · mouse · file · face · charge · present · chest

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. face — part of the head
  4. present — the time now
  5. face — to point toward
  6. row — a line
  7. charge — a price
  8. file — a tool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chest — a box
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. present — there
  14. file — a line of people
  15. chest — of your body
  16. charge — electricity
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. row — to paddle
  21. face — to confront
  22. charge — in control
  23. file — a document
  24. straw — a straw man

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