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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 116 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. shower — to wash
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. mug — to rob
  6. court — of a king
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. row — a line
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mug — a cup
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mug — a face
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. shower — rain
  24. scale — size or range

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