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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. band — a music group
  8. hand — help
  9. wind — moving air
  10. object — an aim
  11. court — for sport
  12. object — to protest
  13. hand — in cards
  14. band — a ring
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. court — of law
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. spring — a coil
  23. kick — in football
  24. court — of a king

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