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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. spring — of water
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. spring — the season
  5. tube — a container
  6. pop — soda
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. file — a line of people
  9. charge — electricity
  10. pop — music
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. staff — employees
  16. charge — a price
  17. cold — not warm
  18. file — a tool
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. charge — in control
  24. spring — a coil

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