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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. file — a tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cue — a signal
  10. file — a document
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. spring — the season
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cue — for pool
  16. spring — a coil
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. saw — the tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cue — a hint
  22. spring — of water
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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