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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. mate — a partner
  3. file — a document
  4. fall — to drop
  5. club — a group
  6. file — a tool
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. capital — a city
  9. stock — goods
  10. mate — to breed
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rock — music
  14. capital — money
  15. date — the fruit
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. club — for dancing
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. club — for golf
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. stock — shares
  24. fall — to drop

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