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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. staff — employees
  3. band — a music group
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cold — an illness
  6. staff — employees
  7. saw — the tool
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. court — of a king
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. row — a line
  14. bank — of a river
  15. band — a ring
  16. court — for sport
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. court — of law
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. cold — not warm
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. staff — a stick

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