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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 116 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: press · pound · stem · straw · lean · land · row · rock

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. land — ground
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. row — to paddle
  7. stem — to come from
  8. land — a country
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. press — to push
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. rock — a stone
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — a weight
  16. lean — to bend
  17. land — to come down
  18. row — a line
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rock — 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