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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 116 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 · pound · swing · stick · file · net · spring

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. net — after costs
  7. rock — a stone
  8. row — a line
  9. spring — of water
  10. rock — music
  11. net — for catching
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. file — a tool
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. file — a document
  18. swing — in golf
  19. pound — a weight
  20. file — a line of people
  21. net — in sport
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. row — to paddle

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