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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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. file — a document
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. current — electric
  5. key — in music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. key — for a lock
  10. current — happening now
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fall — the season
  13. rest — what's left
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. current — of water
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. rest — a break
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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