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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. chest — of your body
  3. scale — in music
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. row — a line
  6. face — part of the head
  7. kid — child
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chest — of your body
  13. face — to confront
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. kid — to tease
  18. face — to point toward
  19. chest — a box
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. dip — to sink
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. dip — a sauce

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