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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. ball — a dance
  4. row — a line
  5. band — a ring
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. row — to paddle
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. hand — help
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. race — humankind
  13. ball — a great time
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stand — to bear
  17. fall — to drop
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. fall — to drop
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. fall — the season
  22. band — a music group
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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