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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. land — ground
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. land — a country
  6. ground — crushed
  7. hand — help
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. object — to protest
  10. key — in music
  11. object — a thing
  12. ground — the earth
  13. lean — to bend
  14. ground — a position
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. hand — in cards
  18. key — for a lock
  19. lean — thin
  20. object — an aim
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. key — the most important part
  23. land — to come down
  24. toast — bread

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