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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. object — an aim
  3. fall — to drop
  4. file — a tool
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. snap — to click
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. object — a thing
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fall — the season
  13. bat — the animal
  14. file — a line of people
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. file — a document
  17. wind — moving air
  18. object — to protest
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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