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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wind — moving air
  3. track — a path
  4. fall — to drop
  5. track — a song
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bass — the fish
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bass — low music
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bore — to tire
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fall — the season
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. track — to keep track
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fall — to drop

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