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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. fall — to drop
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — to drop
  7. row — a line
  8. chip — for betting
  9. fall — the season
  10. hand — in cards
  11. current — of water
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. current — electric
  14. chip — to eat
  15. hand — help
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — boats
  20. current — happening now
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. row — to paddle
  24. march — the month

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