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

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cold — an illness
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chair — a leader
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. row — a line
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. row — a quarrel

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