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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: lean · file · club · cold · pitcher · mine · mark · rock

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cold — an illness
  3. rock — music
  4. club — a group
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. file — a document
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. file — a tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. lean — to bend
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a trace
  20. club — for golf
  21. lean — thin
  22. club — for dancing
  23. mark — a grade
  24. cold — not warm

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