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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. field — a subject
  3. object — a thing
  4. row — a line
  5. field — farmland
  6. race — the arms race
  7. content — the amount
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rash — a series
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. hand — help
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — an aim
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pound — a weight
  18. race — humankind
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. race — a contest
  21. field — for sport
  22. content — happy
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — on the skin

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