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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fine — all right
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. net — after costs
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. file — a tool
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wind — moving air
  15. net — for catching
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. net — in sport
  18. game — wild animals

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