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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. land — ground
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. spring — of water
  5. object — to protest
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chest — a box
  8. object — a thing
  9. bank — of a river
  10. plane — a tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — for pool
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spring — a coil
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bank — for money
  19. cue — a signal
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. bank — for money
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. spring — the season

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