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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a document
  4. game — a match
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — in control
  7. game — wild animals
  8. craft — boats
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. cold — an illness
  12. file — a tool
  13. charge — electricity
  14. lean — to bend
  15. craft — a skill
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. tube — the underground
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cold — not warm
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. stand — to bear

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