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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 120 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. sharp — clever
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cold — an illness
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. file — a tool
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. file — a document
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. lash — to lash out

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