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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mug — a cup
  3. shower — to wash
  4. track — a path
  5. row — a line
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — to keep track
  9. present — a gift
  10. track — a song
  11. shower — rain
  12. mug — to rob
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mug — a face
  15. row — to paddle
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. present — the time now
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — of a plant
  21. present — there
  22. root — the cause
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. game — a kind of play

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