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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: pound · fine · leaves · shower · file · bat · clip · fall

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fine — high quality
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. fine — all right
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fall — the season
  16. file — a tool
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. pound — a weight
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bat — for baseball

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