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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. file — a tool
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. mug — a face
  5. fine — high quality
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. fall — to drop
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fall — the season
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mug — to rob
  13. file — a line of people
  14. fine — all right
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a document
  19. tear — from crying
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mug — a cup
  24. plane — an aircraft

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