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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 116 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bat — the animal
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. pop — soda
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wax — to grow
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cell — a phone
  16. row — a line
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. season — in sport
  20. pop — music
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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