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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: stem · lie · rule · fork · content · face · file · race

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. rule — government
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. content — happy
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. race — the arms race
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. file — a tool
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. file — a document
  17. face — to point toward
  18. rule — a law
  19. stem — to come from
  20. file — a line of people
  21. content — the amount
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. lie — an untruth

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