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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: cell · cold · cap · racket · mark · file · land · stick

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. file — a document
  8. cold — an illness
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cap — a lid
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cap — of ice
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. cell — in biology
  17. land — ground
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. mark — a grade
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. file — a tool
  23. mark — a trace
  24. land — to come down

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