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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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. track — a path
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. content — the amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. craft — boats
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. track — a song
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cue — for pool
  17. craft — a skill
  18. cue — a signal
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. row — a line
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  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