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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: leaves · land · content · safe · cold · rest · file · tear

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. rest — a break
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. tear — from crying
  6. content — the amount
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. content — happy
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cold — an illness
  14. land — a country
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. tear — to rip
  17. land — ground
  18. cold — not warm
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. rest — what's left
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rest — what's left
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. land — to come down

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