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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — in cards
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cold — not warm
  12. hand — help
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lie — to recline
  17. file — a tool
  18. lie — an untruth

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