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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: rest · straw · pound · patient · swing · can · row · spell

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. swing — to play on
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pound — a weight
  5. swing — in golf
  6. spell — magic
  7. rest — a break
  8. spell — a short time
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. can — to be able to
  15. swing — music
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. can — a tin
  18. row — a line
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. row — to paddle
  22. can — a tin
  23. spell — letters
  24. straw — dry grass

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