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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 116 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: bat · file · dip · can · rule · pit · present · cold

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. file — a tool
  2. can — a tin
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — a law
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. dip — to sink
  10. can — a tin
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. can — to be able to
  13. present — a gift
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. file — a document
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — there
  20. bat — the animal
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rule — government
  23. pit — in a race
  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