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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chair — a leader
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. kid — to tease
  8. tube — the underground
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. tube — a container
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. snap — to click
  21. row — a line
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. kid — child

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