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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wound — an injury
  3. swing — to play on
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fall — to drop
  7. ground — a position
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. ground — the earth
  11. fall — the season
  12. pop — to visit
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — to bear
  18. file — a document
  19. swing — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. fall — to drop
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pop — music
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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