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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 120 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bank — of a river
  3. cold — an illness
  4. object — an aim
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pound — a weight
  7. craft — a skill
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. prune — to trim
  11. craft — boats
  12. object — a thing
  13. kid — child
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bank — for money
  16. bass — low music
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. kid — to tease
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cold — not warm
  24. craft — a handicraft

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