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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bound — tied together
  3. kid — to tease
  4. object — a thing
  5. object — to protest
  6. plane — a tool
  7. object — an aim
  8. file — a document
  9. roll — a cake
  10. tube — the underground
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. swing — music
  15. roll — a list
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bound — certain
  18. tube — a container
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bound — obliged
  24. tube — in a tire

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