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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wake — a trail
  4. file — a document
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. field — a subject
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. field — for sport
  10. squash — the sport
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. fine — all right
  16. field — farmland
  17. plane — a tool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. fine — high quality
  23. pitch — completely
  24. file — a tool

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