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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pop — to visit
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. row — a line
  6. wind — moving air
  7. row — to paddle
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rest — what's left
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pop — music
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. pop — soda
  23. rest — a break
  24. stem — to come from

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