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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. object — to protest
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. file — a tool
  6. lean — thin
  7. pass — a permit
  8. lean — to bend
  9. file — a document
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. bank — of a river
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bank — for money
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bank — for money
  20. object — a thing
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. object — an aim
  24. file — a line of people

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