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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. drill — the tool
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. file — a document
  8. drill — a practice
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rock — music
  16. drill — army training
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a tool
  20. bear — the animal
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. stand — to bear
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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