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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. cell — in biology
  3. tube — a container
  4. hand — help
  5. toast — bread
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rush — hurry
  8. tube — the underground
  9. object — to protest
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. object — an aim
  15. game — a match
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. hand — in cards
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cell — in a prison

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