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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. kid — to tease
  3. current — electric
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. stock — shares
  6. pop — soda
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. pop — to visit
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. current — happening now
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. current — of water
  14. face — to point toward
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — boats
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stock — goods
  20. kid — child
  21. pop — music
  22. row — a line
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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