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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 124 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. mug — a face
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — a law
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mug — to rob
  9. file — a document
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mark — a trace
  16. file — a line of people
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. rule — government
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. file — a tool
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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