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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lie — to recline
  3. land — ground
  4. cold — not warm
  5. roll — a list
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. row — to paddle
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a line
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. land — a country
  14. file — a tool
  15. land — to come down
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. roll — a cake
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. file — a document
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wind — moving air

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