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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: row · fan · scale · straw · bore · wake · wound · can

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — a trail
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. can — a tin
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bore — to tire
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bore — to drill
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. can — a tin
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. scale — size or range
  23. can — to be able to
  24. scale — in 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