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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. row — to paddle
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. drill — a practice
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hand — help
  9. row — a line
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. drill — the tool
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wake — a trail
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. hand — in cards
  22. drill — army training
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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