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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 · bore · content · bat · cold · leaves · suit · march

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. march — music
  3. file — a document
  4. cold — not warm
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — an illness
  8. content — the amount
  9. suit — to fit
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bore — to tire
  12. march — the month
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. suit — clothes
  17. suit — in cards
  18. file — a tool
  19. march — the month
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bore — to drill
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bore — gave birth

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