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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: rock · row · spell · ball · straw · ground · pop · wind

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pop — soda
  5. ground — crushed
  6. spell — a short time
  7. row — a line
  8. spell — letters
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wind — moving air
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rock — a stone
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. ground — a position
  15. spell — magic
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. rock — music
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wind — moving air

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