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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pass — a permit
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. bank — for money
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bank — of a river
  12. object — an aim
  13. bank — for money
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool

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