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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pound — a weight
  6. net — for catching
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. net — in sport
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. file — a document
  13. fall — the season
  14. capital — a city
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. stand — to bear
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. net — after costs
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. pound — to hit hard

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