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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. track — a song
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rest — what's left
  6. row — to paddle
  7. capital — a city
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. object — to protest
  12. capital — money
  13. row — a line
  14. rest — what's left
  15. track — to keep track
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. track — a path
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. rest — a break
  21. object — an aim
  22. wind — moving air
  23. object — a thing
  24. hide — animal skin

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