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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.

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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rash — a series
  3. file — a tool
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — a thing
  6. file — a line of people
  7. band — a music group
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. foot — a measure
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. clip — for paper
  14. object — an aim
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. clip — a video
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. file — a document
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — hasty

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