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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. row — to paddle
  3. net — in sport
  4. row — a line
  5. net — for catching
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. game — wild animals
  8. net — after costs
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. prune — to trim
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. swing — in golf
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. game — a match
  19. prune — to trim
  20. swing — to play on
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. swing — music

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