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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. club — for dancing
  4. row — a line
  5. ground — a position
  6. rock — a stone
  7. bound — tied together
  8. ground — crushed
  9. degree — from a university
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. rock — music
  12. bound — obliged
  13. game — a match
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bound — certain
  16. ground — the earth
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. degree — temperature
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. row — to paddle
  24. game — wild animals

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