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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. land — ground
  3. firm — a company
  4. object — a thing
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. object — an aim
  8. band — a music group
  9. hand — help
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. firm — decided
  12. firm — steady
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. object — to protest
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. dip — to sink
  17. band — a ring
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. file — a document
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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