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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. face — to confront
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rock — music
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. current — electric
  12. hand — help
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. wound — an injury
  15. current — happening now
  16. face — part of the head
  17. squash — to crush
  18. dip — to sink
  19. face — to point toward
  20. current — of water
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rock — a stone
  24. squash — the vegetable

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