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

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. file — a tool
  5. fall — to drop
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fall — to drop
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. hand — in cards
  12. snap — to click
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. squash — to crush
  16. hand — help
  17. mate — to breed
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. file — a line of people
  20. fall — the season
  21. spell — magic
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. mate — a partner

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