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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. chest — a box
  3. present — a gift
  4. mine — for digging
  5. object — a thing
  6. present — there
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. root — of a word
  9. chest — of your body
  10. present — the time now
  11. race — humankind
  12. wind — moving air
  13. race — a contest
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. root — of a plant
  17. object — to protest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. root — the cause
  24. rock — a stone

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