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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. drill — army training
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mine — for digging
  10. drill — a practice
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. sharp — clever
  14. tear — to rip
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. object — an aim
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — for pool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. cue — a signal
  23. object — to protest
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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