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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. mug — a cup
  4. object — a thing
  5. wind — moving air
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. degree — temperature
  9. scale — size or range
  10. saw — the tool
  11. scale — in music
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. mug — a face
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. degree — an amount
  20. saw — the tool
  21. object — an aim
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rush — hurry
  24. court — of a king

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