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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · kick · mug · tear · fall · present

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mug — a face
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mug — to rob
  7. present — a gift
  8. tear — from crying
  9. present — the time now
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fall — to drop
  12. present — there
  13. mug — a cup
  14. kick — in football
  15. file — a document
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. file — a tool
  18. tear — to rip

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