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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pop — soda
  4. lean — to bend
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. kid — to tease
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. race — humankind
  10. plane — a tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. fall — to drop
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. kid — child
  17. season — in sport
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. pop — music
  20. season — of the year
  21. race — a contest
  22. lean — thin
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pop — to visit

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