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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rash — a series
  4. row — a line
  5. rock — a stone
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bulb — for light
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. swing — to play on
  11. content — happy
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mine — for digging
  15. swing — music
  16. content — the amount
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rock — music
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. swing — in golf

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