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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: straw · net · wound · row · pitcher · pound · board · wax

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. net — after costs
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — a weight
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. net — in sport
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. net — for catching
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. row — a line
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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