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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. file — a document
  5. lean — thin
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cell — a phone
  9. shower — rain
  10. staff — employees
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. charge — a price
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. file — a line of people
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. charge — electricity
  17. cell — in biology
  18. staff — a stick
  19. lean — to bend
  20. staff — employees
  21. content — happy
  22. cold — not warm
  23. charge — in control
  24. content — the amount

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