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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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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: band · fall · foot · stand · last · object · spell · file

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. fall — to drop
  5. object — an aim
  6. last — final
  7. stand — to bear
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — a thing
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. foot — a measure
  13. fall — to drop
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. band — a music group
  16. spell — a short time
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fall — the season
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. band — a ring

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