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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: bound · bat · rash · bass · file · fall · date · wind

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. fall — the season
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. rash — a series
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bass — the fish
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bat — the animal
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bound — tied together
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bound — certain
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bass — low music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bound — obliged
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bat — in an idiom

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