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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: band · squash · straw · ball · mate · row · present · pit

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. band — a ring
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mate — a partner
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. present — a gift
  11. ball — a great time
  12. row — to paddle
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pit — in a race
  15. present — the time now
  16. band — a music group
  17. ball — a dance
  18. present — there
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. squash — to crush
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mate — to breed

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