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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mine · fan · pop · straw · squash · current · scale

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mine — for digging
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pop — music
  11. row — a line
  12. current — of water
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. current — happening now
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pop — soda
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. current — electric

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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