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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. object — to protest
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. row — a line
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. object — a thing
  8. cap — of ice
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. ground — the earth
  12. row — to paddle
  13. ground — a position
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — a video
  17. object — an aim
  18. cap — a lid
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. cap — a hat
  24. rest — a break

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