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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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bear — the animal
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bound — certain
  6. land — ground
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. spring — a coil
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bound — obliged
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. swing — music
  14. object — a thing
  15. rash — hasty
  16. land — a country
  17. spring — the season
  18. rash — a series
  19. bound — tied together
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. land — to come down
  22. spring — of water
  23. swing — in golf
  24. object — an aim

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