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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. game — a match
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. hand — help
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mine — for digging
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hand — in cards
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. row — a line
  22. kid — child
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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