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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — an aim
  4. pit — in a race
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stand — to bear
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rest — a break
  11. file — a line of people
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. file — a tool
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. file — a document
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. cold — an illness

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