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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. dip — to sink
  4. roll — a list
  5. band — a music group
  6. court — of a king
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lean — thin
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. lean — to bend
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. band — a ring
  16. court — for sport
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. court — of law
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. chest — a box
  21. row — a line
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. saw — the tool
  24. chest — of your body

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