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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. fall — the season
  3. object — an aim
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mug — to rob
  6. fall — to drop
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. object — a thing
  10. rash — hasty
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. march — music
  13. mug — a cup
  14. object — to protest
  15. bass — the fish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rash — a series
  18. file — a tool
  19. bass — low music
  20. file — a line of people
  21. march — the month
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. mug — a face
  24. march — the month

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