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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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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: pop · row · club · wind · stock · rash · pound · straw

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. row — to paddle
  3. pop — soda
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. row — a line
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. stock — shares
  12. rash — a series
  13. club — a group
  14. stock — goods
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pop — to visit
  17. club — for dancing
  18. pound — a weight
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. club — for golf
  24. pop — music

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