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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. suit — in cards
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cell — a phone
  5. last — finally
  6. suit — to fit
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — of water
  9. cell — in biology
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. spring — a coil
  13. sharp — clever
  14. last — to go on
  15. chest — a box
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. object — an aim
  18. chest — of your body
  19. last — final
  20. stand — to bear
  21. spring — the season
  22. suit — clothes
  23. object — a thing
  24. stand — on your feet

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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