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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. scale — size or range
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. band — a music group
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a ring
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. scale — in music
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — a signal
  24. rash — a series

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