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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. rock — music
  4. key — for a lock
  5. pop — soda
  6. bore — to tire
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bass — low music
  11. last — to go on
  12. cold — not warm
  13. key — in music
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bore — to drill
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cold — an illness
  20. last — finally
  21. bass — the fish
  22. pop — music
  23. row — a line
  24. last — final

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