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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 all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. file — a line of people
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. fall — to drop
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mine — for digging
  19. file — a document
  20. chair — a leader
  21. kid — child
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fall — the season
  24. file — a tool

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