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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. spring — the season
  3. rash — a series
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. rash — hasty
  7. net — in sport
  8. degree — temperature
  9. net — for catching
  10. scale — in music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bear — the animal
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. net — after costs
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. row — a line
  19. scale — size or range
  20. spring — of water
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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