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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fall — to drop
  3. snap — to click
  4. fall — the season
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. scale — size or range
  7. land — ground
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. land — a country
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. charge — a price
  12. craft — a skill
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. craft — boats
  19. scale — in music
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — in control
  22. file — a line of people
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. snap — to speak sharply

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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