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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. row — a line
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. row — to paddle
  7. land — ground
  8. rest — a break
  9. spring — of water
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. net — after costs
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. land — to come down
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. dip — to sink
  23. land — a country
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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