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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. chip — for betting
  4. object — a thing
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spring — a coil
  8. march — music
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. chip — to eat
  13. lean — to bend
  14. snap — to click
  15. object — an aim
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lean — thin

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