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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. pop — soda
  6. file — a tool
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — music
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cap — a lid
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cold — an illness
  21. file — a line of people
  22. craft — boats
  23. file — a document
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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