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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. file — a tool
  3. charge — a price
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. rule — a law
  8. charge — in control
  9. file — a line of people
  10. can — to be able to
  11. charge — electricity
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fine — high quality
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. vault — a safe
  17. drill — the tool
  18. fine — all right
  19. rule — government
  20. can — a tin
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. file — a document
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. can — a tin

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