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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 116 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. board — to get on
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. wind — moving air
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wind — moving air
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rule — government
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fork — in a road
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. rule — a law
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. row — a line
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. board — a committee
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. perch — the fish

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