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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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. cold — the Cold War
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. object — a thing
  10. mark — a trace
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. wax — to grow
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. mark — a grade
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. net — in sport
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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