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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fall — the season
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. current — electric
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. fall — to drop
  13. current — of water
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. file — a document
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. branch — a division
  23. current — happening now
  24. dip — to dunk

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