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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.

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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: can · stick · cold · file · cell · bear · chip · mate

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. file — a document
  3. cell — a phone
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mate — to breed
  9. file — a tool
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chip — to eat
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. can — a tin
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. chip — for betting
  19. mate — a partner
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. mate — a friend
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. can — to be able to

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