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

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. suit — in cards
  3. drill — the tool
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. spring — the season
  7. suit — clothes
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. file — a tool
  12. spring — of water
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chair — a leader
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — a thing
  17. drill — army training
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. spring — a coil
  20. game — a match
  21. file — a document
  22. pound — a weight
  23. object — to protest
  24. chair — to sit on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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