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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. object — a thing
  3. rest — what's left
  4. file — a tool
  5. game — a match
  6. file — a document
  7. swing — in golf
  8. spring — the season
  9. swing — to play on
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mate — to breed
  15. file — a line of people
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — to protest
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. swing — music
  21. rash — a series
  22. mate — a friend
  23. spring — of water
  24. mate — a partner

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