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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. row — to paddle
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stem — to come from
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wound — an injury
  8. row — a line
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. track — a song
  15. shower — rain
  16. track — a path
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. dip — to sink
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. plane — a tool
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. track — to keep track
  24. row — a quarrel

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