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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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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. file — a document
  4. clip — for paper
  5. club — a group
  6. game — a match
  7. object — to protest
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — to cut
  10. file — a tool
  11. clip — a video
  12. file — a line of people
  13. present — a gift
  14. toast — bread
  15. root — of a word
  16. present — the time now
  17. root — the cause
  18. club — for dancing
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. club — for golf
  21. game — wild animals
  22. present — there
  23. object — a thing
  24. root — of a plant

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