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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. kid — to tease
  3. row — to paddle
  4. face — part of the head
  5. pit — a hole
  6. branch — a division
  7. chest — of your body
  8. track — a path
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. chest — a box
  11. pit — in a race
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. track — a song
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bass — low music
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kid — child
  24. row — a quarrel

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