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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cold — not warm
  9. hand — in cards
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. file — a document
  16. board — to get on
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. cold — an illness
  20. board — a committee
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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