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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — a thing
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cue — a signal
  8. rest — a break
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cue — a hint
  11. row — a line
  12. object — to protest
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spring — of water
  16. cue — for pool
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rest — what's left
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rest — what's left
  21. snap — to click
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — the season
  24. bat — the animal

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