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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. root — of a word
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. tear — from crying
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. object — an aim
  21. root — of a plant
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. root — the cause
  24. tear — to rip

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