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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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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: chest · bowl · cold · firm · rock · roll · file · craft

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. roll — a list
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. firm — decided
  8. file — a line of people
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cold — not warm
  12. roll — a cake
  13. craft — a skill
  14. rock — music
  15. craft — boats
  16. rock — a stone
  17. firm — a company
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. firm — steady
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. chest — a box

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