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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. lean — thin
  3. drill — the tool
  4. object — an aim
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. spring — a coil
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wind — moving air
  15. object — a thing
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rock — a stone
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rock — music
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. drill — army training
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. drill — a practice

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