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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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 — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. saw — the tool
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chair — a leader
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stock — goods
  9. mate — a partner
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mate — to breed
  15. row — a line
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cold — an illness
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. stock — shares
  23. cold — not warm
  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