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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. row — to paddle
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pop — to visit
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rest — what's left
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — a line
  9. content — the amount
  10. drill — the tool
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rest — what's left
  14. content — happy
  15. pop — soda
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. prune — to trim
  19. drill — army training
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rest — a break
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pop — music
  24. mine — an explosive

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