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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. pitch — completely
  3. object — to protest
  4. drill — army training
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wake — a trail
  7. object — a thing
  8. spell — magic
  9. squash — the sport
  10. shower — to wash
  11. spell — a short time
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. drill — a practice
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wind — moving air
  21. shower — rain
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. spell — letters
  24. drill — the tool

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