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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 · bear · staff · scale · coach · clip · pop · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. row — a line
  3. staff — a stick
  4. row — to paddle
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. scale — in music
  7. clip — for paper
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pop — soda
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — a video
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pop — music
  18. staff — employees
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pop — to visit
  23. staff — employees
  24. wound — an injury

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