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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. ball — a dance
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pop — soda
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chip — for betting
  11. pop — music
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cold — an illness
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. kick — in football
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. kick — a thrill

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