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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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 line
  2. pop — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. pop — to visit
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. tear — to rip
  12. scale — in music
  13. pop — soda
  14. scale — size or range
  15. tear — from crying
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. scale — for weighing
  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