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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. root — of a word
  3. row — to paddle
  4. net — in sport
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — decided
  8. net — for catching
  9. dip — to sink
  10. land — ground
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. firm — a company
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. root — the cause
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lean — thin
  18. net — after costs
  19. lean — to bend
  20. row — a line
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cold — an illness

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