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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. sharp — clever
  3. object — an aim
  4. rest — what's left
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rest — a break
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. file — a document
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. object — to protest
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. object — a thing
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bound — certain
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rest — what's left

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