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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. last — final
  4. drill — army training
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. land — ground
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bore — to tire
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. lean — thin
  12. bore — to drill
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. object — an aim
  16. last — finally
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. drill — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. last — to go on
  24. lean — to bend

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