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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. firm — a company
  3. file — a tool
  4. pass — a permit
  5. firm — steady
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. hand — help
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cold — not warm
  14. row — a line
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. file — a line of people
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — an illness
  22. file — a document
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. firm — decided

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