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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. lean — to bend
  3. object — to protest
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. object — a thing
  6. mug — to rob
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. mug — a face
  9. lean — thin
  10. wake — a trail
  11. mug — a cup
  12. object — an aim
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. cell — in biology
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. deal — to handle
  24. coach — a trainer

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