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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: sharp · fall · wake · bore · shower · file · fan · scale

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bore — to drill
  6. sharp — clever
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. shower — rain
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. file — a tool
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bore — to tire
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. scale — in music
  18. wake — a trail
  19. shower — to wash
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. file — a document
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. sharp — with an edge

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