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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. spell — letters
  3. object — a thing
  4. file — a document
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. race — a contest
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. ground — crushed
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — the arms race
  11. ground — the earth
  12. object — to protest
  13. ground — a position
  14. spell — a short time
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. spell — magic
  18. 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