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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rash — a series
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. fine — high quality
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chest — of your body
  11. game — a match
  12. rash — hasty
  13. object — a thing
  14. last — finally
  15. chest — a box
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. fine — all right
  18. last — to go on
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. last — final
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bulb — for light
  24. plane — a 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