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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: cold · deal · firm · file · tube · wound · rule · root

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wound — an injury
  4. firm — decided
  5. firm — steady
  6. rule — government
  7. cold — not warm
  8. root — of a word
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wound — an injury
  12. deal — to handle
  13. tube — a container
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. root — of a plant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. firm — a company
  20. rule — a law
  21. root — the cause
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cold — an illness

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