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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — a position
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. can — a tin
  7. object — to protest
  8. content — happy
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. can — a tin
  11. ground — crushed
  12. can — to be able to
  13. ground — the earth
  14. content — the amount
  15. object — an aim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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