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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. row — a line
  3. ground — crushed
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. net — after costs
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. net — in sport
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. net — for catching
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. march — music
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. march — the month
  23. stem — to come from
  24. ground — a position

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