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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tube — the underground
  4. field — farmland
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. ball — a great time
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. field — for sport
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. pass — a permit
  19. tube — a container
  20. rush — hurry
  21. field — a subject
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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