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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 120 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 the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. scale — in music
  3. rest — a break
  4. file — a document
  5. bound — certain
  6. cold — not warm
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bound — tied together
  9. file — a tool
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chair — a leader
  13. swing — music
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fall — to drop
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bound — obliged
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fall — to drop

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