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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. land — to come down
  6. object — a thing
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. fall — the season
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. spell — letters
  12. fall — to drop
  13. land — a country
  14. band — a ring
  15. wound — an injury
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fall — to drop
  20. toast — bread
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. object — to protest
  24. land — ground

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