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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 116 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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — for sport
  3. file — a document
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ground — crushed
  7. field — farmland
  8. ground — the earth
  9. suit — in cards
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cap — of ice
  12. suit — clothes
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cap — a lid
  18. ground — a position
  19. fall — the season
  20. suit — to fit
  21. file — a tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cap — a hat

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