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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. shower — to wash
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. shower — rain
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mug — a face
  11. row — a line
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mug — to rob
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. mug — a cup
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kid — child
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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