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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lie — to recline
  6. kid — child
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. shower — to wash
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. wind — moving air
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. shower — rain
  13. staff — employees
  14. kid — to tease
  15. perch — the fish
  16. staff — employees
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. staff — a stick
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pitch — completely
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pitch — a sports field

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