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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. file — a tool
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a signal
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. file — a line of people
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. cue — a hint
  14. capital — money
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. rash — a series
  18. sharp — clever
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. capital — a city
  21. rash — hasty
  22. file — a document
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rash — on the skin

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