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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: cold · current · saw · bark · pitcher · pass · cap · file

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  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. saw — past of 'see'
  2. pass — a permit
  3. current — of water
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. file — a tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. cold — not warm
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cap — of ice
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. file — a document
  21. current — electric
  22. current — happening now
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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