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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — a series
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. file — a document
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. object — a thing
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. object — to protest
  12. rash — hasty
  13. file — a tool
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cold — not warm
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. straw — a straw man

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