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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. wound — an injury
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bass — the fish
  6. present — there
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. file — a document
  11. rash — a series
  12. wound — an injury
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bass — low music
  15. present — the time now
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. saw — the tool
  19. file — a tool
  20. rash — hasty
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. present — a gift
  24. object — an aim

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