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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. hand — help
  3. spring — of water
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. spring — a coil
  6. firm — decided
  7. key — the most important part
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. firm — steady
  13. key — for a lock
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. firm — a company
  16. hand — in cards
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. row — a line
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. key — in music
  22. spring — the season
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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