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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 · wind · patient · bowl · file · pop · fall · trunk

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pop — music
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wind — moving air
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. file — a line of people
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. file — a document
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. fall — the season
  16. pop — soda
  17. fall — to drop
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. file — a tool
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pop — to visit
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bowl — to roll

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