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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. row — to paddle
  3. file — a document
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. fall — the season
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. file — a tool
  9. shower — rain
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. fall — to drop
  12. row — a line
  13. pit — in a race
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. shower — to wash
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — a hole
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. row — a quarrel

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