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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fall — the season
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. file — a document
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. bound — tied together
  22. foot — a measure
  23. file — a tool
  24. bound — certain

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