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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spell — magic
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. object — an aim
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stand — to bear
  9. spell — letters
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spell — a short time
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. swing — music
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. tear — from crying
  17. object — a thing
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. tear — to rip
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stand — for spectators

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