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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. net — for catching
  3. game — a match
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. net — in sport
  7. staff — employees
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rest — a break
  10. object — an aim
  11. branch — a division
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. staff — a stick
  16. wind — moving air
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. object — a thing
  19. bear — the animal
  20. staff — employees
  21. game — wild animals
  22. net — after costs
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bear — to put up with

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