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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: wake · file · row · pass · fan · rule · can · ground

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pass — a permit
  3. can — to be able to
  4. ground — crushed
  5. can — a tin
  6. file — a tool
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wake — a trail
  13. rule — a law
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. row — a line
  16. can — a tin
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. ground — a position
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. file — a document
  22. row — to paddle
  23. ground — the earth
  24. rule — government

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