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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spring — a coil
  3. swing — music
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fall — the season
  6. roll — a list
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spring — the season
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — in golf
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spring — of water
  16. pop — to visit
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. row — a line
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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