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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fork — in a road
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spring — the season
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. spring — of water
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bear — the animal
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. object — a thing
  17. degree — from a university
  18. snap — to click
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. degree — an amount
  21. shower — to wash
  22. degree — temperature
  23. object — an aim
  24. shower — rain

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