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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 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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. 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 quarrel
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. band — a music group
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. row — a line
  13. pound — a weight
  14. band — a ring
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. foot — a measure
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. 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