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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. squash — to crush
  3. object — a thing
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. tear — from crying
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. tear — from crying
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. object — an aim
  11. saw — the tool
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. tear — to rip
  21. sharp — clever
  22. squash — the sport
  23. branch — a division
  24. rest — what's left

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