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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. row — a line
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stand — to bear
  5. shower — rain
  6. pop — to visit
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. club — for golf
  10. cell — in biology
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hand — help
  16. shower — to wash
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. club — a group
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pop — soda
  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