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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 ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. kid — to tease
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — a thing
  5. shower — rain
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. pound — a weight
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. court — of a king
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. fine — all right
  12. kid — child
  13. court — for sport
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bat — the animal
  16. court — of law
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fine — high quality
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bear — to put up 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