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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: wake · stock · mine · file · pitcher · rock · fall · firm

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fall — to drop
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. mine — for digging
  6. firm — decided
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fall — the season
  11. firm — steady
  12. stock — shares
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rock — music
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. file — a document
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. file — a tool
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wake — a trail
  24. firm — a company

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