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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. row — a line
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. degree — from a university
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bass — low music

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