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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. last — final
  3. file — a line of people
  4. club — for dancing
  5. file — a tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — finally
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wind — moving air
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for golf
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. fine — all right
  19. file — a document
  20. fine — high quality
  21. last — to go on
  22. cold — an illness
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cold — not warm

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