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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 120 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. land — ground
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. object — a thing
  11. land — to come down
  12. lean — to bend
  13. land — a country
  14. object — an aim
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lean — thin
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lean — to rest against

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