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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. object — an aim
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. tube — a container
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. key — in music
  11. club — for golf
  12. key — for a lock
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. club — a group
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. object — a thing
  21. cold — not warm
  22. tube — the underground
  23. key — the most important part
  24. club — for dancing

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