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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. scale — size or range
  3. row — to paddle
  4. staff — employees
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. scale — in music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. row — a line
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. staff — a stick
  24. rock — music

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