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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.

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: board · cell · cold · spring · can · wake · tube · file

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. can — a tin
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cell — in biology
  5. spring — of water
  6. cell — a phone
  7. file — a tool
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. file — a line of people
  10. can — a tin
  11. board — to get on
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. board — a committee
  14. cold — not warm
  15. can — to be able to
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. file — a document
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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