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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: straw · rest · firm · row · key · snap · squash · spell

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. spell — letters
  4. rest — what's left
  5. firm — a company
  6. row — a line
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. key — in music
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spell — a short time
  11. firm — steady
  12. key — the most important part
  13. snap — to click
  14. rest — a break
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. row — to paddle
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spell — magic
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. firm — decided
  23. key — for a lock
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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