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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. can — to be able to
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. row — a line
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. rash — hasty
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rash — a series
  17. wake — a trail
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. pitcher — a jug

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