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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. drill — army training
  3. hand — in cards
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. drill — a practice
  8. staff — employees
  9. bound — obliged
  10. shower — to wash
  11. drill — the tool
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. shower — rain
  14. date — the fruit
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bound — certain
  17. hand — help
  18. staff — a stick
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. staff — employees
  21. object — a thing
  22. bound — tied together
  23. object — an aim
  24. racket — for tennis

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