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

Word bank: file · rule · wind · cold · fall · pound · season · mug

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pound — a weight
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fall — the season
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fall — to drop
  12. file — a document
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mug — a face
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — a law
  18. wind — moving air
  19. season — of the year
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mug — a cup

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