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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. row — a line
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stem — to come from
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. scale — in music
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. fork — in a road
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. row — to paddle
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. stem — of a plant

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