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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. staff — a stick
  3. object — a thing
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. spell — magic
  6. staff — employees
  7. key — in music
  8. spell — letters
  9. object — an aim
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. drill — army training
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. spell — a short time
  21. staff — employees
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. net — for catching
  24. trunk — of a tree

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