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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 water is too ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. swing — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. row — a line
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — ground
  11. row — to paddle
  12. net — in sport
  13. rock — a stone
  14. land — a country
  15. cold — an illness
  16. net — for catching
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rest — a break
  19. land — to come down
  20. rock — music
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rest — what's left
  24. net — after costs

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