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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · wind · ball · straw · file · row · pound · game

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. game — a match
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. row — a line
  8. game — wild animals
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. last — final
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — finally
  17. wind — moving air
  18. row — to paddle
  19. file — a document
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. last — to go on
  23. file — a tool
  24. pound — a weight

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