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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. track — a song
  5. foot — a measure
  6. net — after costs
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. file — a document
  9. cold — not warm
  10. season — of the year
  11. net — for catching
  12. track — a path
  13. file — a line of people
  14. season — in sport
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. cold — an illness
  17. net — in sport
  18. rest — a break
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. file — a tool
  23. track — to keep track
  24. racket — for tennis

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