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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 116 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. shower — rain
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. spring — the season
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. hand — help
  11. object — a thing
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. object — to protest
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. shower — to wash
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chair — a leader

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