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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. object — to protest
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. row — to paddle
  7. object — an aim
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mark — a grade
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cell — a phone
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. row — a line
  21. rash — a series
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. object — a thing
  24. mark — a trace

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