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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. row — a line
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. field — for sport
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rest — what's left
  9. field — farmland
  10. charge — in control
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. wind — moving air
  16. charge — a price
  17. field — a subject
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — help
  20. charge — electricity
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wind — to turn a key

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