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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. suit — to fit
  8. drill — the tool
  9. clip — to cut
  10. suit — in cards
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wound — an injury
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. drill — a practice
  18. file — a document
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. file — a line of people
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wound — an injury
  24. clip — for paper

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