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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. ground — a position
  7. hand — help
  8. club — a group
  9. file — a document
  10. march — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fall — the season
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. club — for golf
  17. march — the month
  18. wake — a trail
  19. club — for dancing
  20. march — the month
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ground — the earth
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. file — a tool

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