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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · cold · present · tear · file · board · season · pitcher

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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 document
  3. file — a tool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. season — of the year
  10. court — of law
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cold — not warm
  13. present — the time now
  14. board — a committee
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. court — of a king
  18. present — there
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. season — in sport
  22. board — to get on
  23. present — a gift
  24. board — a flat piece

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