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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a line
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pop — music
  8. ground — crushed
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. swing — music
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. saw — the tool
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. ground — a position
  17. field — farmland
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pop — soda
  20. field — for sport
  21. pop — to visit
  22. saw — the tool
  23. field — a subject
  24. ground — the earth

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