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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. ball — a dance
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. file — a document
  7. pass — a permit
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. ball — a great time
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. land — ground
  14. cold — not warm
  15. file — a line of people
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. file — a tool
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — the underground
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. cold — the Cold War

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