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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rush — hurry
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. board — to get on
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — not warm
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. row — a line
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — an illness
  16. board — a committee
  17. court — for sport
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. wound — an injury

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