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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. chest — a box
  4. cold — not warm
  5. track — a path
  6. roll — a list
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fine — high quality
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cold — an illness
  11. drill — the tool
  12. track — a song
  13. drill — army training
  14. track — to keep track
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. drill — a practice
  18. file — a tool
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. roll — a cake
  22. fine — all right
  23. file — a document
  24. roll — on a roll

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