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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. fall — the season
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. file — a document
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. file — a tool
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fall — to drop
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bat — the animal

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