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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. file — a tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. object — a thing
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. swing — to play on
  8. fork — in a road
  9. firm — a company
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cell — a phone
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. object — an aim
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. firm — steady
  17. swing — music
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. firm — decided
  20. file — a document
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cell — in biology

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