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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bear — the animal
  5. degree — an amount
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wound — an injury
  10. degree — from a university
  11. row — a line
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rash — a series
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fork — in a road
  23. rash — on the skin
  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