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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. snap — to click
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. face — part of the head
  6. fall — to drop
  7. object — an aim
  8. date — the fruit
  9. face — to confront
  10. fall — the season
  11. object — to protest
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. band — a ring
  14. stock — goods
  15. bore — to drill
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bore — to tire
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fall — to drop
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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