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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. staff — a stick
  7. march — the month
  8. row — a line
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. rock — a stone
  12. march — music
  13. row — to paddle
  14. degree — an amount
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — decided
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. march — the month
  20. firm — steady
  21. rock — music
  22. staff — employees
  23. game — wild animals
  24. land — a country

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