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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. row — a line
  4. staff — employees
  5. pound — a weight
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. last — final
  8. deal — to handle
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. foot — a measure
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. row — to paddle

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