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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 · cell · stick · rock · row · scale · net · spell

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. scale — in music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. spell — letters
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spell — magic
  8. net — for catching
  9. cell — in biology
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. row — a line
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. rock — music
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. spell — a short time
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. row — to paddle

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