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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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. sharp — clever
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rash — hasty
  5. field — farmland
  6. row — a line
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pop — soda
  9. bore — to drill
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bore — to tire
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. shower — to wash
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. field — a subject
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pop — music
  20. rash — a series
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. field — for sport
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pop — to visit

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