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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pit — in a race
  3. row — to paddle
  4. pit — a hole
  5. file — a document
  6. object — a thing
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. game — a match
  9. spring — of water
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. file — a tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. row — a line
  20. object — an aim
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spring — the season
  24. file — a line of people

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