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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bear — the animal
  4. present — there
  5. object — a thing
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wake — a trail
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — a gift
  11. bear — the animal
  12. root — of a plant
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. root — of a word
  17. cold — an illness
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. root — the cause
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. object — an aim

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