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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. suit — clothes
  3. file — a tool
  4. staff — a stick
  5. file — a document
  6. cold — not warm
  7. drill — army training
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. prune — to trim
  11. suit — to fit
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chest — a box
  16. staff — employees
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. drill — a practice
  20. staff — employees
  21. drill — the tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chest — of your body

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