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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: pound · row · can · pitch · band · rock · straw · cell

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. pitch — completely
  11. row — to paddle
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. can — a tin
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rock — a stone
  16. can — a tin
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cell — a phone
  20. row — a line
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. can — to be able to
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. band — a ring

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