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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wake — a trail
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. hand — in cards
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. sharp — clever
  12. content — the amount
  13. file — a line of people
  14. object — an aim
  15. file — a tool
  16. object — a thing
  17. content — happy
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. file — a document
  20. march — the month
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. hand — help
  24. sharp — with an edge

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