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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. file — a document
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. file — a tool
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. file — a line of people
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bat — the animal
  24. hide — to keep secret

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