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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. firm — steady
  3. pit — in a race
  4. mine — for digging
  5. staff — employees
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. staff — employees
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a document
  14. cold — an illness
  15. swing — to play on
  16. firm — decided
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. swing — music
  21. firm — a company
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. swing — in golf

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