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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. chest — a box
  3. band — a ring
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bore — to tire
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ground — crushed
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. game — a match
  12. ground — the earth
  13. chest — of your body
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. ground — a position
  17. bore — to drill
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. row — a line
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. dip — to sink

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