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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. rest — what's left
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. file — a document
  6. clip — for paper
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rest — what's left
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. face — part of the head
  12. rock — music
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — to point toward
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rest — a break
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. object — a thing
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. clip — a video

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