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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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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: fall · bat · file · scale · tear · bay · root · dip

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. fall — the season
  4. scale — in music
  5. file — a document
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. file — a tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. root — the cause
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. scale — size or range
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. root — of a word
  20. tear — from crying
  21. dip — to sink
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bay — a horse colour

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