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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fine — high quality
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fall — the season
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. date — the fruit
  20. fine — all right
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. march — the month
  23. deal — to handle
  24. fine — a penalty

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