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

Word bank: fall · chip · cell · object · wake · file

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. file — a document
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wake — a trail
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cell — in biology
  12. file — a tool
  13. object — an aim
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cell — a phone
  17. object — a thing
  18. chip — in a computer

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