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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. object — to protest
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. present — the time now
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. object — an aim
  10. cell — a phone
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cell — in biology
  13. row — a line
  14. present — a gift
  15. object — a thing
  16. present — there
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. mine — for digging
  24. row — to paddle

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