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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. file — a document
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bank — for money
  10. land — to come down
  11. bank — of a river
  12. fall — to drop
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. tube — a container
  15. land — a country
  16. bank — for money
  17. stock — shares
  18. file — a line of people
  19. stock — goods
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. file — a tool
  22. land — ground
  23. fall — the season
  24. ruler — for measuring

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