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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. hand — help
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cold — not warm
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. charge — electricity
  9. file — a tool
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. file — a line of people
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. file — a document
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — in control
  24. leaves — lets stay

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