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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. object — a thing
  3. spell — magic
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. file — a tool
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. object — to protest
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. file — a document
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. hand — help
  16. spell — letters
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spell — a short time
  19. object — an aim
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mine — for digging

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