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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. rash — hasty
  3. scale — in music
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cold — an illness
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rash — a series
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. staff — employees
  11. scale — size or range
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. row — a line
  18. staff — employees
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rash — on the skin

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