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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  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. fall — the season
  2. mine — for digging
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. can — a tin
  5. club — for golf
  6. fall — to drop
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. file — a line of people
  9. tear — from crying
  10. can — a tin
  11. fall — to drop
  12. club — a group
  13. date — the fruit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kid — child
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. file — a document
  20. club — for dancing
  21. kid — to tease
  22. can — to be able to
  23. date — on the calendar
  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