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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. bound — certain
  4. squash — the sport
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rush — hurry
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chair — a leader
  15. net — after costs
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bound — obliged
  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