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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: fine · hand · dip · bear · wind · pop · row · chest

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pop — soda
  3. chest — a box
  4. pop — music
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fine — all right
  8. dip — to sink
  9. hand — help
  10. chest — of your body
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — to paddle

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