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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. present — there
  3. key — the most important part
  4. present — a gift
  5. file — a document
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rest — a break
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. rest — what's left
  11. present — the time now
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. file — a tool
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cold — an illness
  19. file — a line of people
  20. key — in music
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. ball — a great time
  24. cold — not warm

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