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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. season — in sport
  3. cue — a signal
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cue — for pool
  8. object — to protest
  9. net — for catching
  10. object — an aim
  11. net — after costs
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. last — final
  14. object — a thing
  15. row — a line
  16. last — finally
  17. net — in sport
  18. last — to go on
  19. rock — a stone
  20. cue — a hint
  21. rock — music
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. row — to paddle

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