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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 120 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for golf
  5. cap — a hat
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bear — the animal
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cap — a lid
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. hand — help
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. vault — a safe
  21. wind — moving air
  22. row — a line
  23. hand — in cards
  24. wind — to turn a key

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