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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: lash · current · straw · cold · rule · mate · deal · file

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. file — a tool
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. rule — a law
  6. file — a line of people
  7. current — happening now
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. current — of water
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. deal — to handle
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. current — electric
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. file — a document
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rule — government

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