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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. row — to paddle
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. mate — to breed
  14. kid — child
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bulb — for light
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mate — a friend
  22. last — finally
  23. bulb — for light
  24. mate — a partner

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