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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. pitch — completely
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. current — electric
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. object — an aim
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cold — an illness
  20. prune — to trim
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. current — of water
  24. current — happening now

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