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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: toast · file · saw · charge · fan · cold · hand · roll

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. toast — bread
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. file — a document
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. file — a tool
  14. roll — a list
  15. file — a line of people
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — electricity
  19. hand — help
  20. charge — in control
  21. saw — the tool
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. roll — a cake
  24. hand — part of the body

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