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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. lean — to bend
  3. swing — in golf
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cue — a hint
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. row — a line
  9. cue — a signal
  10. prune — to trim
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cue — for pool
  13. degree — an amount
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. degree — from a university
  16. shower — rain
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. swing — music
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. swing — to play on
  23. prune — to trim
  24. row — to paddle

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