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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. hand — help
  3. saw — the tool
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. date — the fruit
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. staff — employees
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. row — to paddle
  19. staff — a stick
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. staff — employees

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