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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: lean · row · ground · cell · band · mug · bowl · wave

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. lean — thin
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. ground — crushed
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. band — a music group
  8. row — a line
  9. cell — a phone
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. ground — a position
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. ground — the earth
  18. band — a ring
  19. mug — a face
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. mug — to rob
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  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