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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wound — an injury
  7. perch — the fish
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — to protest
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spell — magic
  13. charge — a price
  14. spell — a short time
  15. charge — in control
  16. file — a document
  17. club — a group
  18. object — a thing
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. club — for golf
  21. spell — letters
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wound — an injury
  24. charge — electricity

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