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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 120 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. deal — to handle
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cold — an illness
  5. squash — to crush
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. dip — to sink
  8. squash — the sport
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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