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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ground — a position
  6. prune — to trim
  7. shower — rain
  8. ground — the earth
  9. spell — letters
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. ground — crushed
  13. spell — a short time
  14. land — a country
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. land — ground
  20. spell — magic
  21. row — to paddle
  22. land — to come down
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mouse — the animal

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