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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've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. chest — a box
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — not warm
  6. charge — a price
  7. chest — of your body
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. prune — to trim
  12. charge — electricity
  13. charge — in control
  14. spell — magic
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spell — letters
  17. file — a document
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. cold — an illness
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — of your body
  22. file — a tool
  23. deal — to handle
  24. fall — the season

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