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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — ground
  3. row — a line
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. tube — the underground
  6. court — of law
  7. row — to paddle
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. season — in sport
  11. land — a country
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. race — a contest
  14. present — there
  15. race — humankind
  16. land — to come down
  17. court — of a king
  18. tube — a container
  19. season — of the year
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. court — for sport
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. race — the arms race
  24. tube — in a tire

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