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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 124 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — a line
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — a leader
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. present — a gift
  12. can — a tin
  13. mark — a grade
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — a box
  16. present — there
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. can — to be able to
  19. can — a tin
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. present — the time now
  23. mark — a trace
  24. prune — to trim

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