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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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 quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. march — the month
  5. clip — for paper
  6. race — a contest
  7. clip — to cut
  8. perch — the fish
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. pound — a weight
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. race — humankind
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — the month
  18. toast — bread
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. race — the arms race
  22. march — music
  23. fall — to drop
  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