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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. mate — a partner
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — the season
  7. game — a match
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. row — a line
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bore — to drill
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — the sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. mate — a friend
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. fall — to drop
  20. snap — to click
  21. mate — to breed
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bore — to tire

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