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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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 — a thing
  2. hand — help
  3. can — a tin
  4. rash — a series
  5. can — to be able to
  6. bass — low music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. can — a tin
  10. fine — all right
  11. spell — a short time
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bass — the fish
  16. clip — a video
  17. spell — letters
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spell — magic
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fine — high quality
  23. object — to protest
  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