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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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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 · present · scale · season · stand · bowl · deal · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. present — a gift
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. deal — to handle
  9. present — the time now
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. present — there
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. stand — to bear
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. scale — size or range
  19. file — a document
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. file — a line of people
  23. scale — in music
  24. bowl — a football final

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