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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 120 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. object — a thing
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. object — an aim
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. spring — of water
  10. kid — child
  11. spring — the season
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rock — music
  14. spring — a coil
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. object — to protest
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. row — to paddle
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fork — in a road

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