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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. rest — what's left
  3. ground — a position
  4. fork — in a road
  5. object — a thing
  6. rest — a break
  7. object — an aim
  8. net — in sport
  9. ground — crushed
  10. tear — to rip
  11. ball — a dance
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cap — of ice
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cap — a hat
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rest — what's left
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. cap — a lid
  24. tear — from crying

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