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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. court — of law
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. row — to paddle
  10. court — of a king
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rest — a break
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rest — what's left
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. prune — to trim
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. row — a line
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. wind — moving air

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