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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. row — a line
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. snap — to click
  5. staff — employees
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bore — to drill
  9. court — of law
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bore — to tire
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. staff — employees
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wound — an injury
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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