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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mark — a grade
  3. object — to protest
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a trace
  10. prune — to trim
  11. object — a thing
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. prune — to trim
  19. object — an aim
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — music
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. court — of a king
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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