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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: file · fall · cabinet · cell · land · dip · jam · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. land — to come down
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cell — a phone
  7. land — ground
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tube — a container
  11. fall — the season
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. file — a document
  15. cell — in biology
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. fall — to drop
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. land — a country
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. file — a tool

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