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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 · bowl · straw · bore · bat · spell · deal · bound

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. deal — an agreement
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. spell — a short time
  5. deal — to handle
  6. spell — magic
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bound — tied together
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. spell — letters
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. row — a line
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bound — certain
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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