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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. branch — a division
  6. object — an aim
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. toast — bread
  10. wound — an injury
  11. current — of water
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. wound — an injury
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fork — in a road
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. current — electric
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. object — a thing
  23. current — happening now
  24. bat — the animal

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