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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mark — a trace
  3. file — a document
  4. stand — to bear
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tube — a container
  8. firm — a company
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. scale — size or range
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tube — the underground
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. firm — decided
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. firm — steady
  22. scale — in music
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. snap — to click

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