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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: fan · bat · rush · foot · fine · rock · ruler · file

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. rock — music
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fine — high quality
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — a measure
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bat — the animal
  22. file — a document
  23. fine — all right
  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