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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 120 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: cell · spring · file · last · pitcher · fall · fork · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. file — a document
  3. rash — hasty
  4. last — finally
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. file — a tool
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. spring — the season
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rash — a series
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fall — the season
  18. file — a line of people
  19. fall — to drop
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. cell — in biology
  23. spring — of water
  24. fork — in a road

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