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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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468
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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. squash — the sport
  5. file — a document
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. file — a tool
  12. mine — for digging
  13. file — a line of people
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rest — a break
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. squash — to crush
  23. hand — help
  24. rest — what's left

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