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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. file — a document
  5. ground — a position
  6. season — in sport
  7. rest — a break
  8. drill — the tool
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rest — what's left
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. object — to protest
  16. drill — army training
  17. object — an aim
  18. ground — the earth
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. season — of the year
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rest — what's left
  23. drill — a practice
  24. file — a tool

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