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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. row — a line
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. chip — to eat
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. stock — shares
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chest — a box
  20. spring — of water
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stock — goods
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. spring — the season

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