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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. cap — a hat
  3. file — a document
  4. cap — a lid
  5. fine — high quality
  6. file — a tool
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mine — for digging
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. fine — all right
  15. rule — a law
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. content — happy
  18. season — of the year
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rule — government
  23. content — the amount
  24. season — in sport

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