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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. row — to paddle
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. hand — help
  6. last — finally
  7. shower — to wash
  8. firm — steady
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pound — a weight
  11. firm — a company
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. firm — decided
  18. row — a line
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. bass — low music
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bass — the fish
  24. shower — rain

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