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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. present — there
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. net — for catching
  5. rock — a stone
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. row — a line
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. present — the time now
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — music
  13. row — to paddle
  14. swing — music
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. net — after costs
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cold — an illness
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. swing — in golf
  22. present — a gift
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cold — not warm

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