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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wind — moving air
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wind — moving air
  12. court — for sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. degree — from a university
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. lie — to recline
  18. cap — of ice
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cap — a lid
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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