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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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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: wake · lash · staff · fall · content · cell · can · file

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. staff — employees
  3. fall — to drop
  4. can — to be able to
  5. fall — to drop
  6. content — the amount
  7. file — a tool
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. can — a tin
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wake — a trail
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fall — the season
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wake — before a funeral

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