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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. swing — in golf
  7. row — a line
  8. rule — government
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. swing — to play on
  16. rule — a law
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bat — the animal
  21. swing — music
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. cold — not warm
  24. racket — a loud noise

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