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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. season — of the year
  4. row — a line
  5. lean — thin
  6. saw — the tool
  7. band — a ring
  8. season — in sport
  9. row — to paddle
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. hand — in cards
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. band — a music group
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lean — to bend
  18. rock — a stone
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hand — help
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. rock — music
  24. wind — moving air

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