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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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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 · straw · rock · cold · bowl · cell · patient · kick

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. row — to paddle
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. kick — in football
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — music
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. row — a line
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cold — not warm
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bowl — to roll

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