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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. row — to paddle
  4. foot — a measure
  5. cold — not warm
  6. craft — boats
  7. row — a line
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. squash — the sport
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mine — for digging
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. mate — a friend
  18. squash — to crush
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cold — an illness
  21. dip — to sink
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mate — to breed

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