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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. row — a line
  5. land — a country
  6. row — to paddle
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cold — not warm
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. land — ground
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. land — to come down
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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