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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · straw · mark · arm · wind · object · file · toast

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. object — an aim
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. file — a document
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mark — a grade
  21. object — a thing
  22. toast — bread
  23. cell — in biology
  24. arm — part of the body

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