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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · lean · bass · net · court · tear · row · cue

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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. cue — a signal
  4. row — a line
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bass — low music
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. spring — the season
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cue — for pool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. net — after costs
  16. court — for sport
  17. bass — the fish
  18. court — of law
  19. net — in sport
  20. spring — of water
  21. net — for catching
  22. lean — thin
  23. court — of a king
  24. lean — to bend

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