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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. file — a tool
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stock — goods
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. file — a document
  11. staff — employees
  12. craft — a skill
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. craft — boats
  16. staff — employees
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. dip — to sink
  20. file — a line of people
  21. staff — a stick
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — a measure
  24. craft — a handicraft

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