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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. file — a tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. track — a path
  5. mate — a friend
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. ground — a position
  13. file — a document
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cap — a lid
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mate — to breed
  18. track — to keep track
  19. drill — army training
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cold — not warm
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cap — of ice
  24. track — a song

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