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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. swing — in golf
  5. lean — thin
  6. bat — the animal
  7. object — to protest
  8. rule — government
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chip — for betting
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. swing — to play on
  14. rule — a law
  15. spell — a short time
  16. lean — to bend
  17. object — a thing
  18. chip — to eat
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. swing — music
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lean — to rest against

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