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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · can · cold · tube · cabinet · land · last · bay

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. bay — a part of the sea
  2. last — to go on
  3. tube — a container
  4. land — ground
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cold — not warm
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. can — a tin
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. land — to come down
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cold — an illness
  21. file — a tool
  22. land — a country
  23. file — a document
  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