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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 116 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. land — ground
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fall — to drop
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — a thing
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. land — to come down
  10. fall — the season
  11. land — a country
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fall — to drop
  15. file — a line of people
  16. hand — in cards
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. hand — help
  20. object — to protest
  21. file — a tool
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wake — a trail

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