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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — to paddle
  3. craft — a skill
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. ground — a position
  6. row — a line
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. current — electric
  12. hand — in cards
  13. ground — crushed
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. scale — in music
  18. current — happening now
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. craft — boats
  21. current — of water
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. scale — size or range

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