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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: row · wound · straw · kick · spring · pitcher · foot · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cell — a phone
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wound — an injury
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. foot — a measure
  18. row — to paddle
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. row — a line
  21. kick — in football
  22. spring — a coil
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. pitcher — a jug

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