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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. sharp — clever
  3. file — a document
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. file — a tool
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mate — a friend
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cold — an illness
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. land — a country
  15. current — electric
  16. mate — to breed
  17. land — ground
  18. plane — a tool
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. current — of water
  21. foot — a measure
  22. mate — a partner
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — with an edge

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