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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 116 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. file — a line of people
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cap — a lid
  9. land — a country
  10. object — a thing
  11. face — to confront
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — to protest
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. face — part of the head
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. file — a document
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. file — a tool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cap — of ice

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