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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. snap — to click
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. lean — to bend
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fall — the season
  11. fine — all right
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fine — high quality
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. stand — to bear
  19. file — a tool
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. file — a document

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