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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. current — happening now
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. cold — an illness
  8. file — a line of people
  9. game — a match
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pass — a permit
  12. rule — government
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. game — wild animals
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. dip — to sink
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. rule — a law

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