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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: fall · wind · file · content · rush · present · fine · tear

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — all right
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. content — happy
  7. present — a gift
  8. fall — the season
  9. tear — to rip
  10. present — there
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. content — the amount
  14. wind — moving air
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rush — hurry
  19. tear — from crying
  20. file — a document
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fall — to drop

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