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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: date · net · spell · wound · file · fall · wind · race

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. net — for catching
  3. wind — moving air
  4. net — in sport
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. race — humankind
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — moving air
  14. net — after costs
  15. wound — an injury
  16. spell — magic
  17. race — a contest
  18. file — a tool
  19. race — the arms race
  20. spell — a short time
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spell — letters
  23. date — the fruit
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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