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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fall — to drop
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. fall — the season
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. march — the month
  21. cell — in biology
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wake — a trail

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