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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. cap — a lid
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rash — a series
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cap — a hat
  13. pound — a weight
  14. row — a line
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cap — of ice
  22. prune — to trim
  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