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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: saw · mine · fall · current · vault · file · rule · squash

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. current — happening now
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. squash — the sport
  5. current — of water
  6. rule — a law
  7. current — electric
  8. saw — the tool
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. file — a document
  11. fall — to drop
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. squash — to crush
  19. vault — a safe
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. fall — the season
  22. rule — government
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. fall — to drop

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