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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. last — final
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. fall — the season
  6. file — a document
  7. cell — a phone
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. last — to go on
  12. fall — to drop
  13. last — finally
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. season — of the year
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. plane — a tool
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. file — a tool

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