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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: mate · row · staff · wave · pound · track · saw · mine

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. staff — a stick
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. track — to keep track
  7. staff — employees
  8. mate — a friend
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. staff — employees
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. track — a path
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. mate — to breed
  19. track — a song
  20. mate — a partner
  21. pound — a weight
  22. row — a line
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. row — to paddle

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