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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  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. cell — in biology
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cell — a phone
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cap — a lid
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. rash — hasty
  9. track — a path
  10. file — a line of people
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. track — a song
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rash — a series
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ruler — a monarch
  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