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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. file — a tool
  5. last — final
  6. fall — the season
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fall — to drop
  10. field — a subject
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. file — a document
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. fall — to drop
  16. field — for sport
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. hand — in cards
  19. last — to go on
  20. field — farmland
  21. deal — to handle
  22. hand — help
  23. last — finally
  24. cabinet — ministers

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