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

Word bank: row · race · rash · object · perch · snap · pop · wind

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. object — to protest
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. race — a contest
  6. rash — hasty
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wind — moving air
  11. race — the arms race
  12. perch — the fish
  13. race — humankind
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. object — an aim
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. row — a line
  19. snap — to click
  20. object — a thing
  21. rash — a series
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pop — music

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