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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. lean — thin
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. root — the cause
  9. land — a country
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cold — an illness
  14. land — ground
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. root — of a word
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. file — a tool
  19. bound — certain
  20. root — of a plant
  21. lean — to bend
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. land — to come down
  24. file — a document

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