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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. court — of law
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. court — of a king
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. last — to go on
  9. pass — a permit
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. last — final
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pit — a hole
  16. last — finally
  17. court — for sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. file — a tool
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pit — in a race
  24. file — a line of people

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