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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. row — a line
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. cold — not warm
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. net — in sport
  10. root — the cause
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. root — of a word
  14. saw — the tool
  15. net — for catching
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. root — of a plant
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. net — after costs
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bark — to shout

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