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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — to come down
  3. wound — an injury
  4. can — a tin
  5. land — a country
  6. row — to paddle
  7. roll — a list
  8. land — ground
  9. can — a tin
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bass — the fish
  12. tear — from crying
  13. row — a line
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — music
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. can — to be able to
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pop — soda
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. roll — a cake

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