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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 120 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. snap — to click
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. swing — in golf
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. object — an aim
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wound — an injury
  17. swing — to play on
  18. ball — a great time
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — a tool
  22. swing — music
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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