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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — a country
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. swing — to play on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. foot — a measure
  10. rule — a law
  11. land — to come down
  12. chest — a box
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. swing — music
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. pitch — completely
  21. rule — government
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. land — ground

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