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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. fall — to drop
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pop — soda
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — to visit
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fall — the season
  11. file — a document
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pop — music
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bulb — for light
  21. key — in music
  22. key — the most important part
  23. file — a tool
  24. bulb — for light

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