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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. spell — magic
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. spell — letters
  11. band — a ring
  12. kid — child
  13. dip — to sink
  14. row — a line
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. spell — a short time
  17. row — to paddle
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rush — hurry
  20. band — a music group
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. club — for golf
  23. date — the fruit
  24. band — a rubber band

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