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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. date — the fruit
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. land — ground
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. drill — army training
  7. file — a line of people
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. land — to come down
  10. wind — moving air
  11. drill — a practice
  12. file — a document
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. fork — in a road
  15. land — a country
  16. wind — moving air
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. drill — the tool

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