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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. saw — the tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mine — for digging
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spring — of water
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. object — a thing
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. can — to be able to
  13. can — a tin
  14. spring — the season
  15. object — to protest
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spring — a coil
  18. scale — in music
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rush — hurry
  22. can — a tin
  23. scale — size or range
  24. saw — the tool

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