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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. capital — a city
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. capital — money
  10. cell — in biology
  11. saw — the tool
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rule — government
  16. saw — the tool
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. file — a tool
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. rule — a law
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bear — to put up with

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