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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. key — in music
  4. snap — to click
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — ground
  8. bulb — for light
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bulb — for light
  12. land — to come down
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. wind — moving air
  19. land — a country
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. file — a document
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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