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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. chest — a box
  3. object — to protest
  4. suit — in cards
  5. row — to paddle
  6. field — farmland
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. field — for sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cold — an illness
  12. field — a subject
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. object — an aim
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. object — a thing
  18. suit — to fit
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. suit — clothes
  24. cold — not warm

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