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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. ground — crushed
  3. craft — boats
  4. file — a line of people
  5. object — to protest
  6. spell — magic
  7. craft — a skill
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. spell — letters
  13. mate — a friend
  14. clip — to cut
  15. file — a tool
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. file — a document
  18. mate — to breed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — an aim
  22. ground — a position
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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