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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. can — a tin
  3. chest — a box
  4. last — final
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. object — to protest
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chest — of your body
  12. can — a tin
  13. object — an aim
  14. bat — the animal
  15. content — the amount
  16. last — finally
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. content — happy
  22. can — to be able to
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. last — to go on

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