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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. board — to get on
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. board — a committee
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fine — all right
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — an aim
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. last — final
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. object — a thing
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. file — a document
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fine — high quality
  24. calf — of the leg

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