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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 120 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
468
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: file · dip · bore · rule · straw · fan · cold · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. file — a document
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. file — a tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. file — a line of people
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cold — not warm

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