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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: spring · wake · cold · file · fine · present · hand · mug

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. spring — the season
  3. cold — not warm
  4. file — a tool
  5. mug — a cup
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mug — a face
  8. hand — in cards
  9. file — a document
  10. present — a gift
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. present — the time now
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. fine — high quality
  16. spring — of water
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — all right
  19. hand — help
  20. cold — an illness
  21. present — there
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mug — to rob

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