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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. object — an aim
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. prune — to trim
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pop — to visit
  11. object — a thing
  12. pop — soda
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pop — music
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. prune — to trim
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. scale — in music
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. root — the cause

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