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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. file — a line of people
  4. object — a thing
  5. roll — a cake
  6. swing — music
  7. game — a match
  8. roll — a list
  9. field — for sport
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. swing — to play on
  13. field — a subject
  14. game — wild animals
  15. swing — in golf
  16. file — a document
  17. field — farmland
  18. cap — a lid
  19. file — a tool
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cap — a hat
  22. object — an aim
  23. cap — of ice
  24. object — to protest

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