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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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. band — a ring
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. object — an aim
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. band — a music group
  11. spring — the season
  12. row — a line
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. spring — of water
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pass — a permit
  21. fork — in a road
  22. date — the fruit
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. date — on the calendar

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