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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. row — to paddle
  4. scale — in music
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. hand — in cards
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. object — an aim
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wind — moving air
  12. row — a line
  13. wind — moving air
  14. scale — size or range
  15. wound — an injury
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — to protest
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. hand — help
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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