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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cap — a lid
  3. spring — of water
  4. cold — not warm
  5. file — a document
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rock — a stone
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pit — in a race
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. file — a line of people
  19. spring — the season
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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