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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. shower — to wash
  3. charge — in control
  4. file — a tool
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. suit — to fit
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. spell — letters
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — rain
  16. charge — electricity
  17. suit — clothes
  18. spell — a short time
  19. suit — in cards
  20. charge — a price
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spell — magic
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bear — the animal

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