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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 had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. field — for sport
  3. object — a thing
  4. bat — the animal
  5. object — to protest
  6. present — a gift
  7. object — an aim
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. field — a subject
  10. pound — a weight
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fall — to drop
  15. field — farmland
  16. present — the time now
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. fall — to drop
  21. present — there
  22. row — a line
  23. fall — the season
  24. bat — in an idiom

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