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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. last — to go on
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. land — to come down
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. land — ground
  7. snap — to click
  8. last — finally
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. file — a document
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. land — a country
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. file — a tool
  21. wake — a trail
  22. last — final
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wake — before a funeral

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