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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. root — of a word
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bank — for money
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spring — the season
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — the cause
  11. rest — a break
  12. object — a thing
  13. present — a gift
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. present — there
  16. object — an aim
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. present — the time now
  20. bank — for money
  21. rest — what's left
  22. spring — of water
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bank — of a river

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