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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 116 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: wake · fall · file · wound · dip · mark · deal · prune

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wound — an injury
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. prune — to trim
  6. deal — to handle
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wake — a trail
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. file — a line of people

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