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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. land — ground
  3. hand — help
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. land — to come down
  7. stock — goods
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stock — shares
  11. pound — a weight
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. land — a country
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cell — a phone
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cell — in a prison

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