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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a list
  5. present — a gift
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. row — a line
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. row — to paddle
  10. prune — to trim
  11. present — the time now
  12. prune — to trim
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — size or range
  15. roll — a cake
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. shower — rain
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. present — there
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. scale — in music

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