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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 124 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. net — in sport
  4. cell — a phone
  5. last — final
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. perch — the fish
  9. object — a thing
  10. last — to go on
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. net — for catching
  14. lean — thin
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cell — in biology
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. lean — to bend
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. object — an aim
  22. net — after costs
  23. squash — the sport
  24. last — finally

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