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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cap — a hat
  3. file — a tool
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. capital — money
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cap — of ice
  9. charge — a price
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. cap — a lid
  13. file — a line of people
  14. charge — in control
  15. cold — not warm
  16. file — a document
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. capital — a city
  20. fall — the season
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bark — to shout
  24. wave — with your hand

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