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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. game — wild animals
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. row — to paddle
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. swing — in golf
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. shower — rain
  16. swing — music
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. game — a match
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rush — hurry
  21. swing — to play on
  22. hand — help
  23. shower — to wash
  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