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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. rest — a break
  3. capital — money
  4. rest — what's left
  5. capital — a city
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. file — a line of people
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. file — a tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. tear — to rip
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — to eat
  22. tear — from crying
  23. file — a document
  24. capital — a big letter

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