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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. roll — a list
  8. staff — employees
  9. object — to protest
  10. staff — a stick
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. tear — from crying
  16. roll — a cake
  17. staff — employees
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. object — an aim
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wake — a trail
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mine — for digging

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