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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fall — to drop
  5. snap — to click
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cold — not warm
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — to get on
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cold — an illness
  13. file — a tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fall — to drop
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. present — a gift
  19. file — a document
  20. club — a group
  21. wound — an injury
  22. present — there
  23. club — for golf
  24. present — the time now

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