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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 124 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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. object — a thing
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mug — a face
  6. wound — an injury
  7. present — the time now
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. mug — a cup
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wind — moving air
  18. deal — to handle
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. wind — moving air
  22. capital — money
  23. object — an aim
  24. fork — to eat with

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