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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. file — a document
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. net — for catching
  5. ground — a position
  6. net — after costs
  7. fall — the season
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. lean — thin
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ground — the earth
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. file — a tool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ground — crushed
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. lean — to bend

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