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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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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  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 quarrel
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bank — for money
  4. row — a line
  5. track — a path
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bank — for money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. spring — of water
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — a coil
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bank — of a river
  22. spring — the season
  23. track — a song
  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