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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · fan · file · cold · object · plane · fork · ball

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. object — to protest
  3. file — a document
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. object — a thing
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — there
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fork — in a road
  11. present — the time now
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. ball — a dance
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. plane — a tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. ball — a great time
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cold — an illness
  20. object — an aim
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fan — a supporter

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