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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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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: court · bass · row · cold · drill · fall · object · foot

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. drill — army training
  3. object — to protest
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — not warm
  10. object — an aim
  11. fall — the season
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. fall — to drop
  14. court — for sport
  15. bass — low music
  16. row — a line
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. object — a thing
  20. drill — the tool
  21. foot — a measure
  22. court — of law
  23. drill — a practice
  24. foot — the bottom

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