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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. ground — a position
  7. file — a document
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. ground — crushed
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cell — in biology
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bank — for money
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. file — a tool
  24. mine — for digging

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