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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spell — a short time
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. file — a line of people
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. file — a document
  8. ball — a great time
  9. plane — a tool
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spell — magic
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. file — a tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. spell — letters
  17. scale — size or range
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. scale — in music
  24. ball — a dance

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