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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stock — shares
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bore — to drill
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. hand — help
  15. bore — to tire
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. stock — goods
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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