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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. season — in sport
  6. bat — the animal
  7. scale — in music
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. charge — in control
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. charge — electricity
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. row — to paddle
  15. charge — a price
  16. season — of the year
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. kid — child
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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