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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. row — to paddle
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cell — in biology
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. swing — in golf
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. row — a line
  15. swing — music
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. swing — to play on
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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