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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. ground — the earth
  6. spell — a short time
  7. club — a group
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. band — a ring
  10. spell — magic
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spell — letters
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wake — a trail
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. club — for golf
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. band — a music group

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