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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 116 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 chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a line
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. root — the cause
  10. track — a song
  11. root — of a word
  12. shower — rain
  13. press — a publisher
  14. track — to keep track
  15. press — to push
  16. drill — a practice
  17. press — newspapers
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. drill — army training
  20. root — of a plant
  21. drill — the tool
  22. track — a path
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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