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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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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 · club · cold · toast · kid · bear · stand · lash

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. cold — not warm
  5. club — a group
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. toast — bread
  10. file — a document
  11. kid — to tease
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. stand — to bear
  21. kid — child
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — for golf

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