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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stand — to bear
  5. swing — in golf
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. stock — goods
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. wound — an injury
  12. file — a document
  13. snap — to click
  14. swing — music
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. swing — to play on
  17. row — a line
  18. branch — a division
  19. file — a tool
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. file — a line of people

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