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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. land — ground
  3. stock — shares
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pop — soda
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. drill — the tool
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. land — a country
  15. snap — to click
  16. row — a line
  17. pop — music
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pop — to visit
  21. stock — goods
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — to come down
  24. drill — army training

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