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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mine — for digging
  3. row — a line
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. kid — child
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mark — a trace
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. kid — to tease
  15. drill — army training
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mark — a grade

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