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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 116 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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 — to paddle
  2. bat — the animal
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mate — a friend
  5. track — to keep track
  6. spring — of water
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. band — a music group
  9. track — a song
  10. band — a ring
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mate — to breed
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. spring — the season
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. track — a path
  20. saw — the tool
  21. mate — a partner
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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