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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. ball — a great time
  3. object — a thing
  4. bore — to tire
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lean — thin
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. object — to protest
  13. fall — to drop
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. fall — the season
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bore — to drill
  21. branch — a division
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bore — gave birth

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