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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. hand — help
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. file — a line of people
  10. capital — a city
  11. file — a tool
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. wound — an injury
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. capital — money
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stand — to bear
  24. cabinet — ministers

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