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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rash — a series
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wake — a trail
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. row — a line
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. rash — hasty
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. chest — a box
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. root — of a word
  24. row — a quarrel

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