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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. object — a thing
  6. staff — employees
  7. track — a song
  8. chest — a box
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. track — to keep track
  14. chest — of your body
  15. object — an aim
  16. chest — of your body
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spell — a short time
  20. staff — a stick
  21. prune — to trim
  22. staff — employees
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. track — a path

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