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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. file — a document
  3. pop — soda
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. staff — employees
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pop — music
  11. pitch — completely
  12. stand — to bear
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. file — a tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fan — a supporter

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