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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. land — ground
  4. kick — in football
  5. object — a thing
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bat — the animal
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. object — to protest
  17. land — a country
  18. file — a document
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. land — to come down
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. ruler — for measuring

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