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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 · spell · wind · swing · pop · staff · saw · kid

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. swing — music
  3. kid — to tease
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wind — moving air
  11. swing — in golf
  12. staff — employees
  13. spell — letters
  14. saw — the tool
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pop — music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pop — soda
  21. spell — magic
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. kid — child

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