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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 124 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. bat — the animal
  3. last — final
  4. pound — a weight
  5. last — finally
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. root — the cause
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. file — a document
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. root — of a plant
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. last — to go on
  20. file — a line of people
  21. root — of a word
  22. pass — a permit
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. file — a tool

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