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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fall — to drop
  3. shower — rain
  4. file — a tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. file — a line of people
  7. root — of a plant
  8. can — a tin
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. root — of a word
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. object — a thing
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fall — the season
  17. root — the cause
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. object — an aim
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. file — a document

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