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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. rock — music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. drill — the tool
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rock — a stone
  10. deal — to handle
  11. object — to protest
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. object — an aim
  15. drill — a practice
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. file — a line of people
  20. object — a thing
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. file — a document
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. drill — army training

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