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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. object — an aim
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. mine — for digging
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. hand — help
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. object — to protest
  14. rush — hurry
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wound — an injury
  18. swing — music
  19. object — a thing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. row — to paddle

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