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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pit — in a race
  4. game — wild animals
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pit — a hole
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. shower — rain
  13. bat — the animal
  14. game — a match
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rock — a stone
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. rock — music
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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