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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bat — the animal
  3. present — a gift
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. prune — to trim
  6. object — an aim
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. present — the time now
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. object — a thing
  14. snap — to click
  15. rest — a break
  16. object — to protest
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. present — there
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. prune — to trim
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rest — what's left
  24. straw — dry grass

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