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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mark — a grade
  4. cap — of ice
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cap — a hat
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cap — a lid
  13. file — a document
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. file — a tool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mark — a trace
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. game — a match
  24. shower — rain

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