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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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468
Word bank
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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. degree — an amount
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mate — to breed
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mate — a friend
  19. file — a document
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stand — to bear
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. stand — on your feet

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