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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. object — an aim
  6. fall — to drop
  7. object — to protest
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. object — a thing
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rest — what's left
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. capital — money
  18. snap — to click
  19. prune — to trim
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. capital — a city

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