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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. staff — a stick
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. object — an aim
  7. last — finally
  8. fall — the season
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. object — to protest
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. staff — employees
  19. fall — to drop
  20. last — final
  21. staff — employees
  22. fall — to drop
  23. last — to go on
  24. date — the fruit

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