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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. season — of the year
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. field — farmland
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rest — what's left
  11. spell — letters
  12. fall — to drop
  13. season — in sport
  14. spell — a short time
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. field — a subject
  17. rest — a break
  18. snap — to click
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spell — magic
  21. field — for sport
  22. file — a document
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. fall — the season

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