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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. net — in sport
  5. bound — certain
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. row — a line
  9. fine — all right
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fine — high quality
  12. row — to paddle
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bound — tied together
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. degree — an amount
  18. net — for catching
  19. degree — from a university
  20. net — after costs
  21. object — an aim
  22. bound — obliged
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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