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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. object — a thing
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bass — low music
  5. snap — to click
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bass — the fish
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rule — government
  10. shower — rain
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wind — moving air
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. object — an aim
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. lean — to bend
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. object — to protest

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