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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. root — of a plant
  5. rest — a break
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — not warm
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cell — a phone
  10. root — of a word
  11. rest — what's left
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. root — the cause
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. object — a thing
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rest — what's left

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