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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. court — for sport
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. cold — not warm
  13. court — of a king
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. drill — the tool
  17. court — of law
  18. pass — a permit
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. file — a line of people
  23. drill — army training
  24. file — a document

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