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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. object — an aim
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fork — in a road
  5. sharp — clever
  6. key — the most important part
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. key — in music
  10. rest — what's left
  11. key — for a lock
  12. file — a tool
  13. object — to protest
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. spring — the season
  16. object — a thing
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. file — a document
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — of water
  24. fork — a garden tool

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