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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mate — to breed
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. mate — a friend
  8. last — to go on
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. row — a line
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. rock — a stone
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. mate — a partner

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