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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. current — of water
  6. shower — rain
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. current — electric
  9. shower — to wash
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. squash — the sport
  14. object — a thing
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. squash — to crush
  18. object — an aim
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. current — happening now
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. squash — the vegetable

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