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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. roll — a list
  4. sharp — clever
  5. rash — hasty
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — a container
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chest — a box
  15. chair — a leader
  16. row — a line
  17. roll — a cake
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rash — a series
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. chest — of your body

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