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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 120 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. file — a document
  3. fall — the season
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. can — a tin
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. can — to be able to
  11. can — a tin
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. wound — an injury
  15. band — a music group
  16. fall — to drop
  17. land — to come down
  18. band — a ring
  19. pass — a permit
  20. land — ground
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mouse — the animal

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