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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. track — a path
  3. clip — for paper
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cold — not warm
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. deal — to handle
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. file — a document
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. clip — to cut
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. file — a tool
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. clip — a video
  21. track — a song
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. coach — a trainer

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