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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 a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. bass — low music
  4. lean — thin
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. row — to paddle
  7. scale — size or range
  8. lean — to bend
  9. dip — to sink
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. row — a line
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bass — the fish
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. plane — a tool
  21. scale — in music
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. plane — in geometry

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