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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. roll — a list
  3. pound — a weight
  4. current — of water
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. court — of law
  7. roll — a cake
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. court — for sport
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. current — happening now
  20. row — to paddle
  21. court — of a king
  22. current — electric
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pound — to hit hard

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