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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. fork — in a road
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. fork — to eat with

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