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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: snap · date · mine · field · fall · file · board · spell

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. spell — a short time
  3. field — a subject
  4. fall — to drop
  5. board — a committee
  6. spell — letters
  7. field — for sport
  8. snap — to click
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spell — magic
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. mine — for digging
  16. field — farmland
  17. date — the fruit
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. board — to get on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fall — the season

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