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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fine — all right
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. object — an aim
  7. tear — to rip
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. fine — high quality
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. branch — a division
  22. mine — for digging
  23. object — a thing
  24. wound — an injury

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