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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. present — a gift
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. wind — moving air
  6. file — a tool
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. track — a path
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stand — to bear
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. present — the time now
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. track — a song
  24. present — there

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