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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 120 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cold — an illness
  4. net — after costs
  5. rash — a series
  6. row — a line
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. ball — a dance
  9. plane — a tool
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. fine — high quality
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. fine — all right
  15. net — for catching
  16. deal — to handle
  17. rash — hasty
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. net — in sport
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ball — a round shape

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