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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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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. file — a tool
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. file — a document
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. pitch — completely
  19. file — a line of people
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. cabinet — ministers

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