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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 116 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 · mate · tear · file · bay · cold · wound · club

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a document
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mate — a partner
  9. file — a tool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. club — a group
  14. tear — to rip
  15. club — for golf
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cold — not warm
  23. tear — from crying
  24. club — for dancing

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