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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 116 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. mate — a friend
  3. object — a thing
  4. mate — to breed
  5. clip — for paper
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. deal — to handle
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. drill — army training
  15. mate — a partner
  16. object — an aim
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. clip — a video
  19. band — a ring
  20. drill — a practice
  21. clip — to cut
  22. drill — the tool
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. leaves — of a tree

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