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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. march — music
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. key — in music
  6. row — a line
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. march — the month
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. cold — not warm
  17. key — the most important part
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. kid — child
  23. key — for a lock
  24. cold — an illness

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