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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. last — final
  3. fall — to drop
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. last — finally
  6. net — after costs
  7. pop — to visit
  8. file — a tool
  9. net — in sport
  10. pop — soda
  11. row — to paddle
  12. mark — a grade
  13. file — a line of people
  14. face — to point toward
  15. pop — music
  16. row — a line
  17. fall — the season
  18. face — to confront
  19. net — for catching
  20. fall — to drop
  21. face — part of the head
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a trace
  24. last — to go on

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