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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. cue — a signal
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. spell — letters
  6. cue — a hint
  7. file — a line of people
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cue — for pool
  13. file — a document
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. file — a tool
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mine — for digging
  20. object — a thing
  21. bass — low music
  22. object — an aim
  23. rule — a law
  24. spell — magic

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