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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. key — for a lock
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. key — the most important part
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. lean — thin
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. lean — to bend
  10. spring — the season
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. object — an aim
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. spring — of water
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — in cards
  22. spring — a coil
  23. object — a thing
  24. key — in music

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