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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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Word bank
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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: swing · row · calf · club · current · cold · spring · bowl

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. current — electric
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. row — a line
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. spring — the season
  9. club — for golf
  10. cold — not warm
  11. current — of water
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. spring — a coil
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — a group
  17. cold — an illness
  18. swing — in golf
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. row — to paddle
  21. swing — to play on
  22. spring — of water
  23. current — happening now
  24. swing — music

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