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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 were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. last — final
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wound — an injury
  10. land — a country
  11. fall — the season
  12. row — a line
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. land — ground
  15. kick — in football
  16. wound — an injury
  17. last — finally
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rock — music
  20. land — to come down
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. last — to go on
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fall — to drop

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