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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: row · pit · straw · club · squash · drill · wound · lie

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pit — in a race
  4. club — for golf
  5. lie — to recline
  6. club — a group
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. drill — army training
  9. squash — the sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. club — for dancing
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. row — to paddle
  19. drill — the tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. row — a line
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. drill — a practice
  24. lie — an untruth

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