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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rash — hasty
  6. tube — a container
  7. spell — magic
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rash — a series
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spring — the season
  14. spell — letters
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — of water
  20. file — a document
  21. spell — a short time
  22. fall — the season
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. rash — on the skin

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