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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a document
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mug — a face
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — the cause
  9. firm — steady
  10. firm — a company
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mug — to rob
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wake — a trail
  18. root — of a word
  19. firm — decided
  20. march — music
  21. mug — a cup
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. wake — before a funeral

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