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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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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 · hide · can · file · tube · bass · fan · field

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bass — the fish
  3. tube — a container
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tube — the underground
  6. can — to be able to
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. file — a document
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. file — a line of people
  12. can — a tin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. field — for sport
  16. bass — low music
  17. field — a subject
  18. cold — not warm
  19. file — a tool
  20. can — a tin
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. field — farmland
  24. fan — a supporter

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