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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 120 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  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. track — a path
  2. rule — a law
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. file — a document
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bat — the animal
  7. track — a song
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. hand — help
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. file — a line of people
  13. rule — government
  14. track — to keep track
  15. firm — steady
  16. firm — a company
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fall — to drop
  19. file — a tool
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. hand — in cards
  23. firm — decided
  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