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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. file — a line of people
  3. row — a line
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. current — of water
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. row — to paddle
  10. stand — to bear
  11. file — a tool
  12. field — a subject
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. lie — to recline
  15. fall — the season
  16. field — farmland
  17. wind — moving air
  18. file — a document
  19. wind — moving air
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. current — electric
  24. current — happening now

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