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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. file — a document
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bark — to shout
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spell — magic
  8. file — a tool
  9. game — a match
  10. bat — the animal
  11. clip — a video
  12. spell — a short time
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. key — the most important part
  16. clip — for paper
  17. object — a thing
  18. key — in music
  19. object — to protest
  20. key — for a lock
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. spell — letters
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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