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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. content — happy
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — an illness
  5. content — the amount
  6. cold — not warm
  7. swing — to play on
  8. mark — a grade
  9. swing — music
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. chip — to eat
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. row — a line
  20. pound — a weight
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. swing — in golf
  24. row — a quarrel

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