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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. kid — to tease
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a line
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cue — a hint
  8. chip — for betting
  9. cue — a signal
  10. spell — magic
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spell — a short time
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. lean — thin
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wake — a trail
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. cue — for pool
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spell — letters
  24. kid — child

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