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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. rash — hasty
  4. degree — from a university
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pound — a weight
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. band — a ring
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. band — a music group
  14. saw — the tool
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rash — a series
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. degree — an amount
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pound — for dogs

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