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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. tube — a container
  3. cold — not warm
  4. capital — a city
  5. club — for dancing
  6. cold — an illness
  7. row — to paddle
  8. tube — the underground
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. club — for golf
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. file — a line of people
  18. club — a group
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. file — a tool
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. perch — the fish
  24. capital — money

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