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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. row — a line
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. scale — in music
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. prune — to trim
  13. toast — bread
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. scale — size or range
  18. drill — a practice
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. spring — of water
  21. drill — army training
  22. prune — to trim
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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