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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. file — a document
  3. fall — the season
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. key — the most important part
  8. pass — a permit
  9. snap — to click
  10. present — the time now
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. content — happy
  16. present — there
  17. present — a gift
  18. key — for a lock
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. content — the amount

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