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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. pound — a weight
  7. fall — the season
  8. cap — a hat
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. spring — of water
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spring — the season
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bass — the fish
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bass — low 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