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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. file — a tool
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. file — a line of people
  6. band — a ring
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. band — a music group
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. lie — to recline
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. suit — to fit
  18. suit — clothes
  19. file — a document
  20. suit — in cards
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bark — to shout

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