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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. hand — help
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. object — a thing
  10. kid — child
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mine — for digging
  13. kid — to tease
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. hand — in cards
  18. object — an aim

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