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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. saw — the tool
  3. object — an aim
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bore — to tire
  8. court — for sport
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bore — to drill
  13. fall — the season
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. object — a thing
  20. court — of a king
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. court — of law

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