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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. land — to come down
  5. fall — to drop
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cell — a phone
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bark — to shout
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. land — a country
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fall — the season
  17. land — ground
  18. chair — a leader
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. file — a document
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. file — a tool
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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