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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. object — a thing
  4. field — farmland
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. game — a match
  7. bank — of a river
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. scale — in music
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bank — for money
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mate — a friend
  15. shower — rain
  16. object — an aim
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bank — for money
  19. shower — to wash
  20. scale — size or range
  21. field — for sport
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. field — a subject

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