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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. key — for a lock
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. present — the time now
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — not warm
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. present — there
  11. key — in music
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. file — a document
  16. drill — army training
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. plane — a tool
  19. cold — an illness
  20. file — a tool
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. present — a gift
  23. key — the most important part
  24. plane — in geometry

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