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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  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. lean — to bend
  2. shower — to wash
  3. object — to protest
  4. fine — all right
  5. object — a thing
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. rock — music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bound — tied together
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. clip — for paper
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bound — certain
  18. bass — low music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. clip — a video
  21. shower — rain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. fine — high quality
  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