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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — for paper
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rock — a stone
  11. clip — a video
  12. rock — music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mark — a trace
  16. row — a line
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. degree — from a university
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — to pay attention

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