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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. object — a thing
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. clip — a video
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mine — for digging
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. prune — to trim
  21. clip — for paper
  22. object — to protest
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cabinet — ministers

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