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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. object — an aim
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — a box
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chest — of your body
  11. object — a thing
  12. shower — to wash
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. vault — a safe
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — rain
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. row — a line
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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