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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wind — moving air
  8. shower — rain
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. stand — to bear
  13. row — a line
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. roll — a list
  20. chair — a leader
  21. roll — a cake
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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