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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. file — a line of people
  3. snap — to click
  4. fall — the season
  5. cold — not warm
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. file — a tool
  10. spring — of water
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. charge — in control
  14. fall — to drop
  15. spring — a coil
  16. charge — electricity
  17. board — a committee
  18. charge — a price
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a trace
  21. file — a document
  22. board — to get on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mark — a grade

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