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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. spring — a coil
  8. object — a thing
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. object — an aim
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — of water
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. file — a document
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. spring — the season
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. file — a tool

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