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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. file — a tool
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. current — of water
  12. rock — music
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. current — happening now
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ball — a great time
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — the fruit
  21. rock — a stone
  22. current — electric
  23. land — ground
  24. file — a document

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