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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. can — a tin
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. present — there
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. object — an aim
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wake — a trail
  15. present — a gift
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. object — a thing
  19. can — a tin
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. band — a music group
  23. present — the time now
  24. hide — to keep secret

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