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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. file — a tool
  4. game — wild animals
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. file — a document
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pit — in a race
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pit — a hole
  16. fork — in a road
  17. object — a thing
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. game — a match
  21. shower — to wash
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. object — an aim

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