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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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 — to paddle
  2. chip — to eat
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. row — a line
  6. spring — of water
  7. sharp — clever
  8. spring — a coil
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. rash — a series
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. track — a song
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. spring — the season
  19. rash — hasty
  20. track — to keep track
  21. march — the month
  22. track — a path
  23. march — music
  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