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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: spring · roll · straw · last · present · row · squash · kick

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. row — to paddle
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. roll — a cake
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. roll — a list
  8. kick — in football
  9. spring — a coil
  10. squash — to crush
  11. last — finally
  12. present — there
  13. spring — the season
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. present — a gift
  17. squash — the sport
  18. row — a line
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. spring — of water
  22. last — to go on
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. present — the time now

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