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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. club — a group
  7. last — to go on
  8. charge — a price
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cold — an illness
  11. charge — electricity
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. deal — to handle
  15. club — for golf
  16. file — a tool
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. club — for dancing
  19. charge — in control
  20. file — a line of people
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. file — a document
  24. last — final

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