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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — to paddle
  3. file — a tool
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. row — a line
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. saw — the tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hand — in cards

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