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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. capital — a city
  3. land — a country
  4. file — a tool
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cell — a phone
  8. object — to protest
  9. land — ground
  10. plane — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cell — in biology
  13. file — a document
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. fall — the season
  16. object — an aim
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. object — a thing
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. fall — to drop
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. land — to come down

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