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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. file — a document
  6. cold — an illness
  7. deal — to handle
  8. content — the amount
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. content — happy
  13. rule — a law
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. file — a tool
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. rule — government
  24. arm — part of the body

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