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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — in cards
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. file — a line of people
  8. object — an aim
  9. file — a document
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. plane — a tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. object — a thing
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. hand — help
  16. object — to protest
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rush — hurry
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. file — a tool

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