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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's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. saw — the tool
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — decided
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spell — letters
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wound — an injury
  9. game — a match
  10. saw — the tool
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. row — to paddle
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. row — a line
  16. cap — a lid
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spell — a short time
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. firm — a company
  22. spell — magic
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. cap — a hat

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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