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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: cap · file · fall · saw · fork · mine · stand · face

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. face — part of the head
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cap — a hat
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cap — a lid
  13. stand — to bear
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. fall — the season
  18. fork — in a road
  19. file — a line of people
  20. fall — to drop
  21. face — to point toward
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. face — to confront
  24. mine — an explosive

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