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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. face — to confront
  3. can — a tin
  4. prune — to trim
  5. face — to point toward
  6. charge — in control
  7. march — the month
  8. object — a thing
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. charge — electricity
  13. prune — to trim
  14. shower — to wash
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. march — music
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — to drill
  19. object — an aim
  20. shower — rain
  21. charge — a price
  22. face — part of the head
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. march — the month

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