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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. season — in sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ball — a great time
  13. cell — in biology
  14. season — of the year
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. file — a document
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bulb — for light
  22. file — a tool
  23. bulb — for light
  24. straw — a straw man

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