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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: file · wave · fall · bat · ground · cabinet · nail · season

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bat — the animal
  9. season — of the year
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — a position
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. file — a tool
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fall — the season
  21. ground — crushed
  22. file — a document
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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