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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. row — to paddle
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. present — a gift
  8. chest — a box
  9. shower — rain
  10. wind — moving air
  11. present — the time now
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. row — a line
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. ball — a great time
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. present — there
  23. chest — of your body
  24. sharp — clever

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