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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. march — the month
  3. net — in sport
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. tear — to rip
  6. net — after costs
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. march — the month
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rash — hasty
  13. object — to protest
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rash — a series
  17. net — for catching
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. object — an aim
  21. march — music
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. tear — from crying
  24. straw — a straw man

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