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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — help
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. ground — a position
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bear — the animal
  12. ground — the earth
  13. hand — in cards
  14. fall — the season
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rash — a series
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — a weight
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rash — hasty

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