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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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. foot — a measure
  3. file — a tool
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. degree — from a university
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. file — a document
  8. bank — of a river
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. fall — the season
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fall — to drop
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. degree — an amount
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — for money

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