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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. sharp — clever
  5. root — the cause
  6. row — to paddle
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. wound — an injury
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mine — for digging
  16. plane — a tool
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. root — of a word
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wound — an injury
  24. row — a line

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