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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pop — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rock — music
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pop — soda
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pop — to visit
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. game — a match
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wake — a trail
  23. row — to paddle
  24. kick — in football

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