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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. cold — an illness
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. file — a tool
  15. rock — a stone
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cold — not warm
  18. drill — the tool
  19. vault — a safe
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. drill — army training
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — a weight

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