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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. row — a line
  3. swing — in golf
  4. pop — to visit
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. hand — in cards
  7. mark — a grade
  8. charge — electricity
  9. fall — the season
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. charge — a price
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. row — to paddle
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — music
  19. mark — a trace
  20. charge — in control
  21. pop — music
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. fall — to drop
  24. nail — for a hammer

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