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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. clip — for paper
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. fall — the season
  7. bark — to shout
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. game — wild animals
  11. clip — a video
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — a thing
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. rash — hasty
  18. clip — to cut
  19. game — a match
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rash — a series

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