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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. object — to protest
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. staff — a stick
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spring — the season
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. spring — of water
  11. staff — employees
  12. object — an aim
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bass — the fish
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. bass — low music
  18. spring — a coil
  19. tube — the underground
  20. current — electric
  21. tube — a container
  22. clip — a video
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. staff — employees

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