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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. row — to paddle
  3. pound — a weight
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bank — for money
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. shower — rain
  9. bank — for money
  10. file — a document
  11. row — a line
  12. game — a match
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spring — the season
  19. bank — of a river
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — to wash
  23. file — a tool
  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