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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · rock · plane · swing · land · net · pound · row

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. swing — music
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. land — to come down
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. land — a country
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. swing — in golf
  15. land — ground
  16. swing — to play on
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — a weight
  23. rock — a stone
  24. march — the month

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