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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 120 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: suit · lie · file · mate · last · band · bat · fall

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. fall — the season
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. band — a ring
  6. mate — a friend
  7. suit — clothes
  8. mate — to breed
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lie — to recline
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. file — a document
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. band — a music group
  18. file — a tool
  19. last — finally
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. fall — to drop
  23. file — a line of people
  24. suit — to fit

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