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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. key — in music
  3. spell — magic
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — child
  7. bear — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. spell — letters
  10. row — a line
  11. rest — what's left
  12. spell — a short time
  13. key — for a lock
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. game — a match
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. game — wild animals
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. rest — a break

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