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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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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: plane · fork · file · chest · wave · rock · racket · fall

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. file — a line of people
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. file — a tool
  12. plane — a tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rock — music
  15. chest — a box
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fall — the season
  18. chest — of your body
  19. file — a document
  20. rock — a stone
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. plane — in geometry

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