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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — an aim
  4. band — a ring
  5. mate — a partner
  6. cold — an illness
  7. prune — to trim
  8. band — a music group
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. mate — to breed
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wake — a trail
  13. stock — goods
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. mate — a friend
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stock — shares
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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