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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. row — to paddle
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wound — an injury
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. root — of a word
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. root — the cause
  17. shower — rain
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. root — of a plant
  20. row — a line
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. wound — an injury

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