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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — to paddle
  3. staff — a stick
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. rash — a series
  10. staff — employees
  11. degree — from a university
  12. row — a line
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. degree — temperature
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. degree — an amount
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. rash — hasty
  21. staff — employees
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spring — the season

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