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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. key — for a lock
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pass — a permit
  8. kid — to tease
  9. row — a line
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. key — in music
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. snap — to click
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kid — child
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. wind — moving air
  23. key — the most important part
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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