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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. file — a line of people
  5. rule — a law
  6. bass — low music
  7. hand — help
  8. file — a tool
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lean — thin
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. object — an aim
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. file — a document
  24. lean — to bend

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