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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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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: rest · pop · arm · mark · pitcher · cold · row · club

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. club — for dancing
  4. rest — a break
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mark — a grade
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pop — soda
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. club — for golf
  22. mark — a trace
  23. rest — what's left
  24. arm — part of the body

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