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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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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 · band · bore · row · pitcher · scale · tear · season

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. scale — in music
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bore — to drill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. row — a line
  9. season — of the year
  10. bore — to tire
  11. season — in sport
  12. row — to paddle
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. band — a music group
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. scale — size or range

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