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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: fall · chest · dip · file · rest · track · pit · drill

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. track — a song
  5. chest — of your body
  6. drill — the tool
  7. fall — to drop
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rest — a break
  11. chest — a box
  12. pit — a hole
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. file — a line of people
  15. track — to keep track
  16. pit — in a race
  17. dip — to sink
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. file — a document
  21. drill — army training
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. track — a path
  24. dip — to dunk

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