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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: fine · fall · last · bat · file · mate · bowl · club

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. club — for golf
  3. mate — a friend
  4. last — finally
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. last — final
  7. club — a group
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fall — the season
  13. bat — the animal
  14. club — for dancing
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. file — a document
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. fine — high quality
  19. file — a tool
  20. mate — a partner
  21. fine — all right
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mate — to breed
  24. last — to go on

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