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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. cold — an illness
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. object — a thing
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. object — an aim
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cap — a lid
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bore — to drill
  19. key — for a lock
  20. cap — a hat
  21. key — in music
  22. bore — to tire
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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