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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. present — a gift
  3. rest — a break
  4. current — of water
  5. present — there
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. current — electric
  9. rest — what's left
  10. file — a line of people
  11. drill — a practice
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — a thing
  16. present — the time now
  17. rest — what's left
  18. drill — the tool
  19. ball — a great time
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. file — a document
  22. ball — a dance
  23. current — happening now
  24. drill — army training

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