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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. face — to confront
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. face — part of the head
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. kid — child
  10. row — a line
  11. face — to point toward
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. march — music
  14. bulb — for light
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bulb — for light
  18. band — a music group
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a ring
  21. kid — to tease
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. march — the month
  24. dip — to dunk

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