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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rest — a break
  3. file — a document
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. last — finally
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — not warm
  9. ground — crushed
  10. chip — for betting
  11. file — a line of people
  12. ground — a position
  13. cold — an illness
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. file — a tool
  16. last — final
  17. rest — what's left
  18. last — to go on
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. fine — all right
  21. chip — to eat
  22. fine — high quality
  23. ground — the earth
  24. chip — in a computer

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