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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bat — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. court — of a king
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rush — hurry
  9. court — for sport
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. chest — a box
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. court — of law
  15. chest — of your body
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wind — moving air
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chest — of your body
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. row — a line

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