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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. bound — certain
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. kid — to tease
  8. object — a thing
  9. capital — money
  10. kid — child
  11. capital — a city
  12. bound — tied together
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. toast — bread
  22. object — an aim
  23. bound — obliged
  24. date — on the calendar

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