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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. land — to come down
  4. net — in sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. file — a line of people
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. object — to protest
  11. land — ground
  12. kid — to tease
  13. band — a music group
  14. net — after costs
  15. land — a country
  16. kid — child
  17. net — for catching
  18. file — a document
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. file — a tool
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. object — an aim
  24. hide — to keep secret

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