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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fall — the season
  6. staff — employees
  7. scale — in music
  8. fall — to drop
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fall — to drop
  11. scale — size or range
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. staff — a stick
  15. cell — a phone
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. staff — employees
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. cell — in biology
  22. tube — the underground
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. tube — a container

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