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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 116 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. object — an aim
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. file — a line of people
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. object — to protest
  9. chip — for betting
  10. file — a document
  11. row — to paddle
  12. pitch — completely
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. object — a thing
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. chip — to eat
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. row — a line
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cold — not warm

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