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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. 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. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. object — a thing
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. squash — to crush
  10. chair — a leader
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fall — the season
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. squash — the sport
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. fall — to drop
  24. 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