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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. cold — not warm
  3. file — a tool
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. scale — in music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. key — the most important part
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. scale — size or range
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. file — a document
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. key — for a lock
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. key — in music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cold — the Cold War

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