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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 · march · rock · pop · cold · mouse · calf · land

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. row — to paddle
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. land — to come down
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. row — a line
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rock — a stone
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. land — ground
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. rock — music
  23. land — a country
  24. row — a quarrel

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