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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. season — of the year
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. kid — to tease
  5. row — to paddle
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. spell — letters
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. track — to keep track
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — thin
  12. kid — child
  13. rock — a stone
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rock — music
  18. season — in sport
  19. spell — magic
  20. cold — an illness
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cold — not warm
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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