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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 124 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. object — to protest
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. object — an aim
  6. pop — to visit
  7. branch — a division
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. object — a thing
  12. file — a document
  13. pop — soda
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lean — to bend
  16. swing — to play on
  17. spell — a short time
  18. file — a line of people
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — letters
  22. lean — thin
  23. pop — music
  24. swing — music

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