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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — decided
  4. fine — high quality
  5. file — a document
  6. fine — all right
  7. file — a tool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. land — to come down
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. cold — not warm
  14. object — a thing
  15. face — part of the head
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. pit — in a race
  19. land — ground
  20. face — to confront
  21. object — an aim
  22. face — to point toward
  23. land — a country
  24. firm — a company

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