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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. ball — a dance
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. ball — a great time
  7. row — to paddle
  8. shower — rain
  9. lean — to bend
  10. race — humankind
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pound — a weight
  13. lean — thin
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. content — the amount
  16. shower — to wash
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. row — a line
  19. rock — a stone
  20. race — the arms race
  21. content — happy
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rock — music
  24. race — a contest

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