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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · tear · cell · cold · ruler · mine

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. cell — a phone
  3. tear — from crying
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cell — in biology
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. file — a document

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