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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. object — to protest
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — to bend
  5. object — an aim
  6. court — for sport
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. court — of a king
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. court — of law
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. lean — thin
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wound — an injury
  21. object — a thing
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bulb — for light

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