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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. track — to keep track
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. fall — the season
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. track — a path
  10. tear — from crying
  11. board — a committee
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fall — to drop
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mine — for digging
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bulb — for light
  18. track — a song
  19. tear — to rip
  20. row — a line
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. board — to get on
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fall — to drop

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