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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 · pop · bay · spell · file · march · kick · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. march — the month
  8. spell — letters
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pop — soda
  11. file — a document
  12. march — music
  13. pop — music
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. file — a line of people
  16. march — the month
  17. file — a tool
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spell — magic
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spell — a short time
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pop — to visit

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