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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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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. ball — a great time
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — an illness
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. root — of a word
  12. ball — a dance
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. file — a document
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. fall — the season
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. dip — to sink

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