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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. row — a line
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chip — for betting
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wake — a trail
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pop — soda
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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