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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. march — the month
  3. row — to paddle
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spell — magic
  6. degree — an amount
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. row — a line
  9. march — music
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — to bear
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lie — to recline
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spell — letters
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. shower — rain
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. spell — a short time
  24. march — the month

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