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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rock — a stone
  3. fall — the season
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. row — to paddle
  9. spell — magic
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. spell — letters
  12. rash — hasty
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kid — child
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — to tease
  20. rock — music
  21. row — a line
  22. spell — a short time
  23. rash — a series
  24. fall — to drop

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