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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 120 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chip — for betting
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. club — a group
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mark — a trace
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — to point toward
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. file — a line of people
  21. face — part of the head
  22. club — for golf
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — a permit

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