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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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 tool
  3. board — to get on
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. rash — a series
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. file — a document
  14. board — a committee
  15. cold — an illness
  16. net — for catching
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. file — a line of people

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