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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — to paddle
  3. suit — in cards
  4. ground — the earth
  5. spell — a short time
  6. kid — child
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. row — a line
  9. suit — clothes
  10. scale — size or range
  11. kid — to tease
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. stem — to come from
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. scale — in music
  24. suit — to fit

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