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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 116 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. land — ground
  3. cold — not warm
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. file — a line of people
  11. land — a country
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. file — a document
  14. land — to come down
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. lie — to recline
  20. file — a tool
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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