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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. object — an aim
  5. hand — help
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. race — a contest
  9. object — a thing
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. perch — the fish
  12. hand — in cards
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bat — the animal
  15. race — humankind
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. net — in sport

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