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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wake — a trail
  5. firm — steady
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. kid — child
  8. firm — a company
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rash — a series
  14. row — a line
  15. rash — hasty
  16. scale — in music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. firm — decided
  20. scale — size or range
  21. degree — temperature
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. degree — an amount

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