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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 116 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. file — a document
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — for sport
  7. mine — for digging
  8. file — a tool
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. dip — to sink
  12. court — of law
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mark — a grade
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fall — to drop
  23. court — of a king
  24. mark — a trace

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