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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. object — an aim
  4. hand — help
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — in cards
  7. object — to protest
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — for digging
  12. file — a document
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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