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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. march — the month
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a city
  9. present — there
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. present — the time now
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a tool
  15. capital — money
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. cue — a hint
  18. march — music
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. present — a gift
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cue — for pool

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