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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 · patient · track · row · bound · spring · last · club

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bound — certain
  3. club — a group
  4. spring — a coil
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. row — a line
  7. track — to keep track
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. spring — the season
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. last — finally
  12. spring — of water
  13. track — a song
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. last — final
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. club — for dancing
  18. track — a path
  19. bound — obliged
  20. club — for golf
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bound — tied together
  23. row — to paddle
  24. last — to go on

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