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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. object — to protest
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wound — an injury
  7. net — after costs
  8. object — a thing
  9. net — in sport
  10. bound — tied together
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bound — obliged
  13. cell — a phone
  14. object — an aim
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bound — certain
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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