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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: cold · fine · pass · kick · last · row · bulb · file

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fine — high quality
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. bulb — for light
  6. last — finally
  7. kick — in football
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. row — to paddle
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. row — a line
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. last — final
  16. pass — a permit
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fine — all right
  24. kick — with a leg

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