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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. track — a path
  3. cell — a phone
  4. track — a song
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. game — a match
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. row — to paddle
  12. shower — rain
  13. bear — the animal
  14. track — to keep track
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. roll — a list
  17. row — a line
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. shower — to wash
  24. roll — a cake

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